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UNIVERSmy 

PENN5YIX^\NIA. 

LIBRARIES 


THE    rENNSYLVAyNlA-GERMAN    SOCIETY. 


CASPAR    SCHVE/Nl^FELDT    VON    OSSIG. 

l^tgO— 1562. 


penne^lvania: 

THE  GERMAN  INFLUENCE 

IN    ITS    SETTLEMENT    AND    DEVELOPMENT. 


H  IRarratipe  an&  Critical  Ibistotp, 


PREPARED  BY  AUTHORITY  OF 

THE    PENNSYLVANIA-GERMAN    SOCIETY, 


PART  XII. 


THE    SCHWENKFELDERS   IN  PENNSYLVANIA, 
A   HISTORICAL    SKETCH 


PUBLISHED   BY  THE  SOCIETY. 


publicatton  Committee. 
JDLIUS  F.  SACHSE,  Lirr.D. 
DANIEI,  W.    NEAD,    M.D. 
HENRY  M.    M.   RICHARDS. 


^be  Scbwenktelbers 

in  Pennsylvania, 

A  HISTORICAL   SKETCH. 

Part  XII.  of  a  Narrative  and  Critical  History 

PREPARED    AT  THE    REQUEST    OF 

The  Pennsylvania-German  Society 


BY 

HOWARD   WIEGNER   KRIEBEL 


#    Illustrated  by  Julius  F.  Sachse,  Litt.D. 


LANCASTER,  PA. 
1904 


Copyrighted  1904 

BY    THE 

pennsTBlvania-Cerman  Socictig. 


PMSS  OF 

VIE  NIW  ERA  PRINTINe  COMPANY 

LANOAeTER,    PA. 


AN   OFFERING   OF   THANKS    TO    GOD 

FOR    HIS     UNSPEAKABLE    GIFTS, 

A  TRIBUTE   OF   RESPECT 

FOR    THE    EXAMPLE    OF    A    PIOUS    ANCESTRY, 

A    SLIGHT    CONTRIBUTION    OF    MATERIAL    FOR    A 
HISTORY    OF    god's    KINGDOM    ON   EARTH. 


PREFACE. 


THE  following  letter  is  offered  by 
the  author  as  a  reason  and  apol- 
ogy for  allowing  his  name  to 
appear  in  the  list  of  historians 
who  have  so  well  been  telling 
the  story  of  the  Pennsylvania- 
Germans  in  the  annals  of  the 
Pennsylvania-German    Society. 

"Lebanon,  Pa.,  Nov.  12,  1900. 
Prof.  H.  W.  Kriebel, 

Pennsburg,  Pa., 

My  Dear  Sir: 

I  am  pleased  to  inform  you  that  our  Executive  Com- 
mittee at  its  recent  meeting  in  Easton  selected  you  to  write 
a  paper  on  the  "  Schwenkf elders  "  especially  with  regard 
totheirhistoryin  this  Commonwealth.  *  *  *  A  declination 
under  these  circumstances  would  be  a  serious  matter  to  us. 
Sincerely  yours, 

H.  M.  M.  Richards,  Secretary. 

Thanks  are  hereby  offered  to  the  Society  for  esteeming 
the  story  of  the  Schwenkfelders  worthy  of  a  place  in  the 


viii  Preface, 

critical  History  of  Pennsylvania  now  being  published  by 
the  Society,  for  the  honor  conferred  in  entrusting  to  the 
writer  the  preparation  of  such  account,  for  the  kindness 
and  consideration  uniformly  shown  him  in  his  labors.  A 
general  acknowledgment  of  indebtedness  is  also  due  and 
hereby  cheerfully  made  to  the  various  institutions  and  indi- 
viduals who  have  aided  the  writer  in  the  prosecution  of  his 
study  and  research. 

This  sketch  is  in  some  measure  at  least  a  pioneer  work 
and  thus  has  not  had  the  benefit  of  previous  publications 
refined  in  the  critic's  crucible.  Its  shortcomings  are  pain- 
fully evident  to  the  author  but  he  hopes  that  they  may  not 
discredit  the  more  fortunate  features  nor  the  subject  itself. 
No  claim  is  laid  to  originality.  As  a  matter  of  fact  almost 
every  sentence  may  be  traced  to  some  original  authority, 
almost  exclusively  German.  An  honest  effort  has  been 
made  by  the  writer  to  give  facts  faithfully  as  found,  to 
avoid  drawing  inferences  or  flattering  fancies  of  the  imagi- 
nation. Should  some  kind  reader  feel  that  undue  promi- 
nence has  been  given  in  the  sketch  to  the  religious  and 
doctrinal  phase  of  life,  it  is  hoped  that  a  careful  perusal  of 
the  whole  will  satisfy  him  that  to  eliminate  this  feature 
would  be  equal  to  taking  the  Prince  of  Denmark  out  of 
"Hamlet,"  Christian  out  of  Bunyan's  "Pilgrim's  Prog- 
ress "  or  Washington  out  of  the  "  History  of  the  American 
Revolution."  Footnotes  respecting  translations  or  sources 
of  information  have  been  omitted  because  in  most  cases 
the  material  would  be  inaccessible  to  the  general  reader. 
Neither  did  it  seem  desirable  to  note  the  misstatements  and 
misrepresentations  made  by  various  writers. 

The  initial  letters  at  the  beginning  of  each  chapter  are 
fac-simile  reproductions  from  the  manucript  hym.n-book 
written  by  Christopher  Kriebel,  1765. 


Preface. 


IX 


It  is  sincerely  hoped  that  the  present  effort  may  induce 
a  more  thorough  study  of  Schwenkfelder  history  and  the 
publication  of  monographs  on  special  phases  of  the  sub- 
ject. The  reader  will  not  forget  that  he  is  viewing  the 
life  of  a  simple  country  folk  and  that  the  thought  so  beau- 
tifully set  forth  in  Gray's  Elegy  is  still  worthy  of  consider- 
ation. 

'*  Let  not  ambition  mock  their  useful  toil, 
Their  homely  joys  and  destiny  obscure, 
Nor  grandeur  hear  with  a  disdainful  smile 
The  short  and  simple  annals  of  the  poor." 

^AST  Green vECLE,  Pa., 

January  19,  1904. 


T   T   r   T 

Content0. 


0 


CHAPTER  I. 
Casper  Schwenkfeld i_i6 

CHAPTER  11. 

Schwenkf elders  before  their  Migration  to  Saxony     .     17-25 

CHAPTER  in. 
Schwenkfelders  in   Saxony  and  their   Migration  to 
Pennsylvania 26-'i4 

CHAPTER'IV. 
Settlement  in  Pennsylvania '55-')4 

CHAPTER  V. 
Efforts  at  Church  Organization,  173^-1782       .     .     .     55-70 

CHAPTER  VI. 

Adoption  of  the  Constitution  of  1782 7i-79 

CHAPTER  VII. 
Church  life  under  the  Constitution  of   1782     .     .     .     S0-102 

CHAPTER  VIII. 
Relation  between  the  Schwenkfelders  and  Zinzendorf 
in  Pennsylvania lo-^-iio 

CHAPTER  IX. 

Secular  Education  among  the  Schwenkfelders    .     .      120-138 

(xi) 


xu 


Contents. 


CHAPTER  X. 
Schwenkfelders  as  Citizens 139-160 

CHAPTER  XI. 
Private  life  of  the  Schwenkfelders 1 61-182 

CHAPTER  XII. 
Bibliographical  Notes 183-204 

APPENDIX. 
(a)  Draft  of  letter  by  Rev.  Christopher  Schultz     .     206-219 
(3)  Marriage  Contract 220-225 


PLATES. 

Casper  Schwenkfeld • Frontispiece. 

Schwenkfelder  Historians facing  page  i6 

Christian  Hohburg " 

Memories  of  By-Gone  Days " 

Early  Homes " 

Yeakel  Cottage '* 

Spinning  with  spindle " 

Schwenkfelder  Homes " 

Church  Architecture " 

Schwenkfelder  Ministers • " 

Church  and  Graveyard " 

Meeting  House  1793 • " 

Weaving  Tape,  Heddle  loom " 

At  Church 

Manuscript  Volumes     .,..-....• " 

Sampler  by  Regina  Heebner  1794 " 

The  von  Schwenkfeld  arms .    .  " 

A  Group  of  Nonogenarians     " 


24 

32 

40 

48 

56 

72 

80 

88 

104 

136 

176 

184 

192 

200 

205 

216 


ILLUSTRATIONS  IN  TEXT. 


Page. 

1.  Head  Piece i 

2.  Arms  of  Liegnitz i 

3.  Schwenkfeld  Title-page,  1524  2 

4.  Frontispiece,  1564 15 

5.  Tail  Piece 16 

6.  Head  Piece 17 

7.  Initial  I,etter  T 17 


Page. 

8.  MS.  Title-page,  1745  ....  19 

9.  Emigrants  afoot 26 

10.  Initial  Letter  P 26 

11.  Tail  Piece 34 

12.  Head  Piece 35 

13.  Initial  Letter  P 35 

14.  MurderofMrs.Schultz,  1750.  44 


(  xiii  ) 


XIV 


Illustrations  in  Text. 


Page. 

15.  Map  by  David  Schultz,  1767.  46 

16.  Head  Piece 55 

17.  Initial  Letter  1 55 

18.  Editions     of     the     Schultz 

Catechism 65 

19.  Schwenkfelder  Hymn  Books.  67 

20.  Spinning  Wheel 70 

21.  Head  Piece 71 

22.  Initial  Letter  W 71 

23.  Tail  Piece 79 

24.  Head  Piece 80 

25.  Initial  Letter  A 80 

26.  Ornamental  Pen  Work,  1806.  97 

27.  Arms  of    the  Holy  Roman 

Empire 102 

28.  Head  Piece 103 

29.  Initial  Letter  M 103 

30.  Wheel  for  Spinning  .    .    .    .119 

31.  Head  Piece 120 

32.  Initial  Letter  K 120 

33.  Minute  Book  of  Schools.  .   .  122 

34.  School  Books,  1790 133 

35.  A  Relic  of  By-Gone  Days    .  138 

36.  Head  Piece 139 


Page. 

37.  Initial  Letter  U 139 

38.  Translation  of    address    by 

Hopkins 142 

39.  Auditors'  Report.   .    .  .  145 

40.  Letter  by  Israel  Pemberton.  147 

41.  Tailpiece 160 

42.  Head  Piece 161 

43.  Initial  Letter  S 161 

44.  Notes  on  Bible  Study,|  .    .   .  164 

45.  A  MS.  Hymn  Book 166 

46.  Receipt  for  Mission  Money,  173 

47.  A     Schwenkfelder    Music 

Book 177 

48.  MS.  Hymn  Book  for  Family 

Worship 181 

49.  Head  Piece 183 

50.  Initial  Letter  T 183 

51.  A  Few  Title  Pages 195 

52.  Head  Piece 203 

53.  Initial  Letter  A  .    .    .    .  203 

54.  Schwenkfeld  hrms 205 

55.  Vignette 218 

56.  Tail  Piece 219 


THE    PEMN5YLVANIA-GERnA/N     SOCIETY. 


SCHWENi^FELDER    HISTORIANS. 

OSWALD     KftDELBflCM.  CHESTER     DBUID     MftRTKflNFT. 

I8Z0-188Z.  FRIEDRICH   SCHNEIDER. 

1806-1882. 


CHAPTER  I. 
Casper  Schwenkfeld.^ 


IC 


ASPER  SCHWENKFELD, 

the  oldest  child  in  a  family  of 
four,  was  born  of  Catholic  parents 
at  Ossig  near  Liegnitz  in  Silesia, 
Germany, 1490  (1489?),  and  died 
at  Ulm,  December  10,  1562. 
The  family,  which  was  of  the 
nobility  and  could  trace  the  story 
of  its  ancestry  several  hundred 
years,  ended  about  two  hundred 
years  after  his  birth. 

Taught  by  priests  who  bribed 
him  with  sugared  cakes,  he,  as  a  Catholic,  early  learned 
to  repeat  his  lessons  of  Romish  praise  and  prayer ;  he 
later  studied  in  Liegnitz  and  at  Frankfurt,  Cologne  and 
other  universities. 

Having  prepared  himself  for  his  station,  though  his 
general  culture  may  perhaps  have  been  somewhat  limited, 
he,  while  yet  a  young  man,  entered  upon  the  life  of  a 
courtier  and  as  such  served  at  several  courts ;  first,  at  the 

1  Variations  in  the  spelling  of  Schwenkfeld's  name :  Caspar,  Cas- 
par, Casper,  Chaspar,  Gasper,  Kaspar;  Schwenckueld,  Scbwenckfeld, 
Schwenckfeldt,  Schwenkfelt,  Schwenckhfeldt,  Schewenkfeldt,  Schwenk- 
feld. 

(O 


2  The  Pennsylvania- Gertnan  Society. 

court  of  Duke  Carl  of  Miinsterberg,  a  grandson  of  King 
Podiebrad  of  Bohemia,  where  the  views  of  Huss  were 
upheld    and   probably  impressed   on  his  receptive   heart; 


TITLE    PAGE    OF    ONE    OF  SCHWENKFELD'S  EARLY    LETTERS    ADDRESSED 
TO  BISHOP  OF   BRESLAU     JACOB  V.    SALZA. 


Schwenkfeld  versus  Luther.  3 

later,  at  the  court  of  Duke  Friedrich  II.    of  Liegnitz,  as 
Hofrat  or  aulic  councilor. 

During  his  courtier  life,  which  lasted  quite  a  number  of 
years,  Schwenkfeld  probably  did  not  take  a  deep  interest 
in  the  Bible,  but,  God  having  touched  his  heart,  he  with- 
drew from  court  life  to  Liegnitz  where  he  preached  and 
taught.  Here  he  became  an  intense  student  of  the  Bible, 
theology,  the  Church  Fathers  and  the  Greek  language. 
When  the  advance  waves  of  the  Lutheran  upheaval  struck 
Silesia,  Schwenkfeld  rejoiced;  when  Friedrich  II.  em- 
braced the  Reformation,  Schwenkfeld  heartily  encouraged 
him  and  threw  his  own  whole  life  into  the  movement,  thus 
greatly  aiding  in  the  spread  of  the  new  light  in  Silesia, 
for  which  he  received  the  good  wishes  of  Luther. 

The  want  of  harmony  between  the  theories  of  Luther 
and  Schwenkfeld,  recognizable  in  the  two  letters  written 
by  the  latter  in  1524,  became  an  open  and  endless  discord 
between  the  parties  themselves  a  year  later.  Schwenkfeld 
saw  that  he  could  not  agree  with  Luther  in  reference  to  the 
nature  of  Christ's  presence  in  the  Lord's  Supper.  Having 
talked  and  prayed  over  the  matter  with  his  friends  he, 
after  further  earnest  study  and  prayer,  went  with  letters  of 
introduction  to  Bugenhagen  and  Justus  Jonas  at  Witten- 
berg for  the  purpose  of  laying  his  views  before  Luther 
both  orally  and  by  books  and  manuscripts.  A  talk  lasting 
several  days  followed,  after  which  Schwenkfeld  went 
home  in  good  spirits,  to  receive  later  a  fiery  letter  from 
Luther  in  which,  among  other  things,  the  charge  is  made 
that  either  the  writer,  Luther,  or  Schwenkfeld  must  be  the 
bond-servant  of  the  devil.  The  storm  of  persecution  which 
thus  began  to  show  itself  was  destined,  under  God's  Provi- 
dence, to  blow  about  the  heads  of  Schwenkfeld  and  his 
followers  for  more  than  200  years,  and  though  on  Penn's 
soil  a  refuge  was  found  in  1734,  its  after  effects  may  be 
seen  and  felt  to  this  day.     The  system  of  doctrine  which 


4  The  Pennsylvania- German  Society. 

Schwenkfeld  had  formulated  at  this  time  and  which  proved 
beyond  doubt  that  he  was  a  fearless,  conscientious  and  pro- 
found thinker  even  then,  was  developed  unaltered  with  the 
passing  years  and  maintained  unflinchingly  in  minutest  de- 
tail to  the  hour  of  death. 

Silesia  at  this  time  was  budding  into  new  life  and  a  rich 
soil  into  which  the  seeds  of  the  Reformation  might  drop 
lay  ready.  Schwenkfeld,  although  he  had  been  repulsed 
by  Luther,  maintained  his  position  by  speech  and  pen 
both  in  public  and  private  with  the  aid  of  his  bosom  friend, 
Crautwald.  He  thus  won  many  adherents  to  his  views 
and  there  was  a  promising  prospect  that  Silesia,  beginning 
at  Liegnitz,  would  embrace  the  "Reformation  by  the 
Middle  Way"  as  the  movement  under  Schwenkfeld  was 
called.  Friedrich  II.  and  nearly  all  the  ministers  of  Lieg- 
nitz having  embraced  the  doctrine,  the  University  of  Lieg- 
nitz was  projected,  partly  organized  and  put  into  operation, 
soon  to  be  smothered  by  adverse  influences  beyond  the 
control  of  its  friends.  Opposing  forces  were  at  work  at 
the  same  time,  however.  The  publication  of  one  of 
Schwenkfeld's  tracts  by  Oecolampadius  helped  to  increase 
the  wrath  and  zeal  of  Luther  and  the  Lutheran  ministers 
against  Schwenkfeld.  The  issue  of  Schwenkfeld's  de- 
fense of  his  own  views  about  the  Lord's  Supper  without 
his  consent  or  knowledge  by  Zwingli  in  Zurich  in  1528 
led  the  Bishop  of  Vienna  to  oppose  Schwenkfeld  in  writ- 
ing which  in  turn  led  King  Ferdinand  to  serve  notice  on 
Friedrich  of  Liegnitz  that  he  should  punish  the  new 
teacher.  To  save  his  friends,  Schwenkfeld  upon  this  left 
home,  voluntarily  and  not  as  an  exile  by  the  will  of  the 
duke,  to  live  away  from  home  and  its  comforts,  from 
friends  and  kindred  all  the  remaining  days  of  his  life. 
The  letter  of  pardon  which  brought  with  it  a  chance  to  re- 


Intolerant  Decrees.  5 

turn  to  his  home  which  was  offered  by  the  king,  was  not 
accepted  since  it  would  have  implied  that  he  should  rec- 
oncile himself  to  the  Church,  its  offices,  regulations  and 
sacraments,  to  teach  only  what  the  Church  taught  and  to 
publish  nothing  without  the  knowledge  and  acceptance  of 
the  king. 

Schwenkfeld  lived  thereafter  in  Strasburg,  Nuremberg, 
Augsburg,  Ulm  and  other  important  centers,  besides  visit- 
ing friends  and  staying  temporarily  in  many  of  the  free 
imperial  cities  of  South  Germany,  persecution  following  him 
wherever  he  went.  From  Strasburg  he  was  exiled  in 
1533  ;  from  Augsburg,  compelled  to  withdraw  in  1535  ;  at 
Tubingen  after  a  colloquy,  peace  and  cessation  from  per- 
secution were  promised  though  not  publicly  proclaimed, 
^^535  '■>  ^t  Ulm  inquisition  machinery  was  set  in  motion 
against  him,  happily  set  at  rest,  however,  by  the  War  of 
Smalcald.  In  1558  he  wrote  that  he  was  nowhere  secure 
and  that  he  could  not  move  about  without  being  in  con- 
siderable danger.  Decrees  were  issued  against  him,  his 
books  were  confiscated  and  burned,  his  printers  were  for- 
bidden to  print,  his  booksellers,  to  sell  his  books.  He  was 
denounced  in  pulpit  by  priest  and  pastor,  in  church  con- 
ference by  almost  every  important  gathering.  Those  who 
aided  and  comforted  him  placed  themselves  in  jeopardy 
and  at  times  suffered.  Charges  were  brought  by  those 
even  who  by  their  own  confession  had  scarcely  seen  his 
books  or  read  them ;  calumnies  were  rehashed  and  re- 
vamped, nor  could  an  earnest  searcher  after  the  truth  in- 
vestigate for  himself  because  the  literature  was  suppressed. 
The  church  leaders,  from  whom  the  persecution  mainly 
emanated,  seemed  to  vie  with  each  other  in  reproaching,  re- 
viling, defaming,  calumniating,  condemning  and  execrat- 
ing.    He  was  called  :  Ketzer,  Widertauffer,  Secter,  Rotten- 


6  The  Pennsylvania- German  Society. 

geist,  Reinengeist,  Winkel-kriecher,  Schleicher,  Meuch- 
ling,  Stenckfeld,  Schelmen,  Ertz-ketzer,  Schwarmer, 
Verfiihrer,  Narren,  Grillenmeister,  unsinniger  toller  Teu- 
fel,  Donatisten,  Valentinianer,  Entychianer. 

And  yet  in  spite  of  it  all  and  perchance  at  times  on  ac- 
count of  it  all,  he  could  not  be  silenced,  he  could  not  be 
tempted  to  deny  his  Christ  by  doing  an  unchristian  act,  or 
by  betraying  what  he  believed  Christ  had  taught  him  by 
His  Spirit,  the  common  people  could  not  be  incited  against 
him,  many  princes  and  nobles  defended  him  and  had  it 
not  been  for  strenuous  state  measures,  large  sections  of 
Silesia  would  in  all  probability  have  adopted  the  "  Refor- 
mation by  the  Middle  Way."  He  himself  labored  assid- 
uously in  the  defense  of  his  views.  He  preached,  wrote, 
dictated  to  his  friends,  published  books,  and  indirectly 
through  his  adherents  spread  his  doctrines,  trusted  mes- 
sengers carrying  messages  back  and  forth.  When  the 
printing  presses  were  closed  against  him,  loving  and  will- 
ing hands  multiplied  manuscript  copies ;  when  misrepre- 
sentations were  made,  he  sent  books,  tracts  and  letters  and 
sought  opportunity  to  explain  and  defend  himself.  When 
his  Feier-Abend  drew  near  and  the  shades  of  night  be- 
gan to  fall,  Schwenkfeld's  soul  was  calm,  peaceful  and 
at  rest.  No  undercurrent  or  eddy  of  ill-will,  hatred  or 
revenge  to  others  disturbed  the  surface  and  the  grace  of 
heaven  was  reflected  from  his  entire  being.  As  all  through 
his  life,  he  exemplified  his  life-motto  :  Nil  iriste,  Christo 
recepto.  He  spent  his  last  days  as  he  had  spent  a  long 
and  useful  life,  in  his  Father's  business,  praying,  reading, 
talking  about  his  Saviour.  Fully  assured  that  his  name 
was  written  in  the  Lamb's  Book  of  Life,  he  committed 
himself  into  the  hands  of  Him  whom  he  had  served  so 
many  years  and  thus  fell  asleep  to  awake  in  the  land  where 
there  shall  be  no  more  death,  neither  sorrow  nor  crying. 


Dectrines  of  Schwenkfeld.  *j 

In  attempting  a  hasty  glimpse  at  the  doctrines  and 
motives  of  the  man,  it  is  well  to  keep  in  mind  what  he 
himself  said  of  the  aim  and  purpose  of  his  life.  In  1535 
he  wrote:  "After  God's  gracious  visitation  some  years 
since,  I  committed  myself  wholly  to  my  Lord  Jesus  Christ 
and  through  Him  in  the  Holy  Ghost  gave  myself  a  living 
sacrifice  into  the  nurture,  training,  and  education  of  my 
heavenly  Father.  By  His  grace  I  do  this  now,  praying 
the  Lord  to  teach  me  to  know  Him  and  to  strengthen  and 
establish  me  in  such  knowledge  unto  the  life  eternal." 
Like  the  apostle  whom  Jesus  loved,  Schwenkfeld  was 
leaning  on  his  Master's  bosom  for  doctrine,  guidance,  com- 
fort, and,  if  we  may  judge  him  by  his  fruits  according  to 
the  Saviour's  rule,  Jesus  must  have  loved  him.  His  life  and 
theology  were  Johannine,  Christocentric.  The  glory  of 
Jesus  was  his  master-passion  :  he  and  his  followers  were 
hence  often  called  (perhaps  partly  in  derision)  "  Confes- 
sors of  the  Glory  of  Christ."  His  doctrines  were  laid  by 
him  in  earnest  prayer  before  his  Lord  and  compared  with 
the  Bible  and  the  writings  of  the  Church  Fathers.  Build- 
ing on  Jesus  as  his  Rock  and  Foundation,  he  evolved  a 
line  of  thought  briefly  and  inadequately  stated  (in  part)  in 
the  following  propositions  which  are  drawn  from  and  ex- 
pressed in  his  own  words  and  which  touch  the  main  doc- 
trines around  which  the  storm  chiefly  seemed  to  center. 

1.  The  only  thing  needful  for  man's  temporal  and 
eternal  happiness,  his  salvation,  is  the  spiritual  knowledge 
of  Christ,  the  experience  of  the  love,  wisdom  and  power  of 
God  in  the  believing  heart  through  the  Holy  Ghost. 

2.  God  is  a  Spirit  and  works  man's  salvation  through  the 
only  mediator,  Jesus  Christ,  the  same  yesterday,  to-day, 
and  forever,  the  Lamb  of  God  foreordained  by  wisdom 
divine  from  the  beginning  to  be  the  cause  and  ground,  the 


8  The  Pennsylvania- German  Society, 

origin  and  end  of  man's  salvation  and  not  indirectly  through 
man  or  the  word  or  work  of  man  as  through  channels,  in- 
struments or  means  of  grace.  Redemption  and  the  Plan 
of  Redemption  are,  therefore,  the  same  before  as  after  the 
Incarnation,  with  as  without  the  historic  knowledge  of  the 
H0I3'  Scriptures  or  of  Jesus  Christ,  in  and  through  the  inner, 
unwritten,  uncreated,  eternal  Word  of  God,  the  Logos 
which  was  from  the  beginning. 

3.  Jesus  Christ  is  the  great  mystery  of  godliness  of 
whom  all  the  Scriptures  testify,  the  eternal,  natural,  only 
begotten  Son  of  God  the  Father  Almighty,  the  second  Per- 
son in  the  Trinity  from  whom  and  the  Father  the  Holy 
Spirit  proceeds,  true  God  and  true  man,  undivided  and  in- 
divisible as  to  His  dual  nature  in  time  and  eternity. 

4.  Christ's  mediatorial  office  implies  that  God  gives  His 
gifts,  answers  prayer  and  receives  into  Heaven,  only 
through  Jesus  Christ  and  for  His  sake,  that  the  way  to 
Heaven  is  through  the  body  and  blood  of  Christ,  that  He 
is  the  true  throne  of  grace  whence  mercy  comes,  that 
Christ  Himself  is  what  He  gives  us,  our  redemption,  our 
peace,  our  reconciliation,  our  sanctification,  our  justifica- 
tion, that  in  Christ  alone  can  man  lay  off  the  sinful  old 
nature  and  put  on  the  holy  new  nature. 

5.  There  is  a  duality  in  the  nature  of  things  which  must 
be  observed  in  all  study  of  the  Bible  and  religion.  The 
one  element  is  of  the  earth,  physical,  visible,  pertaining  to 
the  kingdom  of  this  world  and  the  present  life ;  the  other 
is  heavenly,  spiritual,  invisible,  pertaining  to  the  Kingdom 
of  God  and  the  life  everlasting.  The  former  explains, 
illustrates  and  points  out  the  latter,  but  is  not  the  latter  and 
cannot  produce  the  latter. 

6.  Jesus  Christ  being  the  Author  and  Finisher  of  man's 
faith,  all  true  service  derives  value  only  from  the  inner, 


Doctrines  of  Schwenkfeld.  9 

spiritual  element  as  the  sinner  hears  God's  Word  directly 
from  the  Father  and  all  true,  public,  acceptable  service 
can  and  does  only  proceed  from  within  outward.  God  is 
a  Spirit  and  must  be  worshipped  in  the  spirit  by  the  heart 
and  can  not  be  adored  by  material  things,  services,  or 
offerings,  ceremonies  or  sacraments. 

7.  The  Bible,  both  Old  and  New  Testaments,  inspired 
of  God,  written  by  holy  men,  profitable  for  doctrine,  re- 
proof, correction  and  instruction,  though  in  itself  dead, 
and  without  power  to  heal,  vivify  or  save,  and  not  under- 
stood by  the  unregenerate  or  the  spiritually  unenlightened, 
is,  for  the  faithful  in  Christ,  a  treasure  and  mine  to  be 
prized  over  every  earthly  treasure.  Its  words  should  be 
read,  reread,  digested  and  meditated  upon.  Theology 
should  be  constructed  from  it  and  as  far  as  possible  should 
be  expressed  in  its  language.  Faith  is  to  be  tested  by  it. 
Whatever  is  true,  right  and  based  upon  the  Word  of  God 
should  be  maintained  and  he  who  yields  truth  thus  given, 
imperils  his  own  salvation. 

8.  Sin  consisting  not  only  of  the  outward  act,  the  guilt, 
weakness,  want  or  defect  of  nature,  the  corrupt  will  or  the 
heart  purpose,  but  also  of  the  total  corruption,  the  innate 
uncleanness,  the  abiding  inclination  of  the  flesh  to  evil, 
came  upon  mankind  through  the  guilt  and  transgression 
of  Adam,  who,  after  the  creation,  became  disobedient  and 
brought  sin  and  death  on  mankind  so  that  all  are  conceived 
in  sin,  born  as  the  children  of  wrath  and  are  by  nature 
enemies  of  God  and  His  grace  and  under  condemnation. 

9.  Forgiveness  of  sin  is  not  a  mere  non-imputation  of 
sin,  nor  a  mere  remission  of  God's  punishment  for  sin ;  it 
is  also  a  killing,  destroying  and  taking  away  of  sin  from 
the  heart  and  conscience,  removing  all  accusation  and  con- 
demnation ;  it  is  a  living  experience  and  assurance  of  the 


lO  The  Pennsylvania- German  Society. 

love,  mercy,  favor  and  grace  of  God  in  Christ  Jesus, 
bringing  peace  and  rest  into  the  soul,  love  and  joy  into  the 
outward  life. 

10.  Man  becomes  a  Christian  and  child  of  God  when 
he,  hearing  the  true  Word  of  God,  Jesus  Christ  in  his 
heart,  allows  himself  to  be  drawn  by  God  the  Father  and 
through  Faith  to  be  regenerated ;  life,  light,  peace,  joy, 
strength  enter  through  the  inner  Word  of  God,  effecting 
a  beginning  of  the  divine  life  and  of  the  indwelling  of  the 
spirit  of  God.  Jesus  Christ  is  not  only  the  mystery  of 
faith,  of  the  gospel  and  of  the  grace  of  God ;  he  is  also 
our  example  and  perfect  model  whose  footsteps  are  to  be 
followed  abidingly  in  the  daily  life.  He  who  receives 
Jesus  only  as  a  Saviour,  not  as  the  Christian's  model  and 
ideal,  has  a  dead  Christ,  a  historic  Christ,  despising  god- 
liness and  building  on  a  fictitious  faith  founded  on  reason. 

11.  True  Christian  faith  is  a  divine  gift  and  power  sepa- 
rate and  distinct  from  all  elements  of  earth  or  the  works  of 
man  by  which  the  sinner  is  transformed,  regenerated,  en- 
lightened, and  kept  unto  final  redemption.  It  is  not  intel- 
lection, nor  theorization,  nor  a  mere  conviction  of  the  truth 
of  the  gospel  or  acceptance  of  the  gospel  or  trust  in  the 
promise  of  God's  mercy. 

12.  The  true  Christian  Church,  having  Christ  as  its 
Head,  is  the  Body  of  Christ,  the  seed  of  Abraham,  the 
house  of  the  living  God,  the  heavenly  Jerusalem,  the  tem- 
ple of  the  Holy  Ghost,  the  City  of  God.  In  such  body 
there  must  be  oneness  of  Spirit,  love,  faith  and  knowledge, 
and  all  are  brethren.  The  visible  Church  based  on  such 
inner  oneness  should  be  composed  of  Christians,  of  those 
who  call  on  the  name  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  and  who 
living  accordingly  do  not  reject  Him  in  their  daily  conduct. 
Here  the  Spirit  of  Christ  rules,  protects,  teaches,  defends 


Doctrines  q/  Schwenkfeld.  ii 

and  directs  all  servants  and  services.  A  strict  Church 
discipline  by  which  the  erring  are  reproved  and  those  who 
live  in  open  sin  are  put  away  from  the  body  of  believers  is 
an  essential  element  in  the  work  of  the  visible  Church. 
Outward  concord  in  law,  doctrine,  ceremony  or  sacrament 
does  not  constitute  a  Church  of  Christ,  nor  are  these  the 
marks  of  a  church. 

13.  The  primary  and  essential  element  in  baptism  is  the 
inner  grace  of  God  through  the  pouring  out  of  the  waters 
of  life.  The  other  element  is  the  washing  of  the  body. 
Baptism  of  the  body  follows  faith  and  is  a  confession  of 
Christ  before  the  world,  a  public  reception  into  the  body 
of  professing  believers,  a  visible  sign  of  what  the  believer 
professes  to  have  received  into  his  soul,  a  cleansing  and 
purification.  In  the  Lord's  Supper  a  dual  eating  and 
drinking  takes  place  —  the  one  is  invisible  which  the 
Lord  the  Son  of  Man  gives  unto  His  own,  the  imperishable 
bread  of  life  which  is  Christ  Himself  through  a  true  and 
living  faith  ;  the  other  is  visible  and  is  called  a  bread  of 
the  Lord,  which  the  Lord  has  commanded  to  be  broken 
and  to  be  eaten  in  remembrance  of  Him,  by  the  assembled 
body  of  believers  who  through  faith  have  communion  of 
His  body  and  blood.  Christ  did  not  establish  the  Supper 
in  order  that  the  believer  might  seek  His  body  and  blood 
in  it,  much  less  that  he  should  seek  forgiveness  of  sin,  life 
and  salvation  in  it. 

14.  The  Church  and  State,  belonging  to  distinctly  dif- 
ferent kingdoms,  should  be  kept  separate.  The  State  has 
no  right  to  force  its  subjects  to  adopt  any  particular  reli- 
gious services  or  belief,  or  to  promote  the  use  of  the  same 
by  force  of  arms,  or  to  kill  or  put  into  exile  those  who 
differ  fron^  the  State,  or  to  unite  the  sword  of  the  spirit 
with  the  sword  of  iron  or  in  the  name  of  the  gospel  to 


12  The  Pennsylvanta-Gerfnan  Society. 

make  treaties  with  foreign  nations,  princes  and  powers  or 
to  require  its  subjects  or  officers  to  be  Christians  or  pro- 
fessors of  Christ,  or  to  build  up  or  destroy  any  religious 
services,  or  to  appoint  or  discharge  the  priests  or  ministers 
of  the  Church.  The  Church  has  no  right  to  force  the  con- 
science of  any  subject  through  the  State,  or  to  seek  pro- 
tection for  life  or  doctrine  under  the  State. 

The  great  aims  in  the  life  of  Schwenkfeld  were  to  make 
sure  of  the  forgiveness  of  his  sin,  the  regeneration  of  his 
heart  and  life,  the  acceptance  unto  the  life  eternal  by  his 
Christ.  He  never  allowed  himself  to  become  guilty  of  any 
vice  that  needs  glossing  over,  nor  to  speak  or  write  a  word 
even  to  his  closest  friends  in  secret  that  might  not  be 
uttered  in  the  presence  of  the  most  refined  ladies  of  any 
period.  He  was  one  of  Nature's  true  noblemen  who  never 
forgot  his  manners.  Through  his  whole  life  there  ran  a 
deep  undercurrent  of  commendable  earnestness,  modesty, 
gentleness,  friendliness,  humility,  reverence,  playful  hu- 
mor, sincere  piety.  Christian  forgiveness  and  a  laudable 
desire  to  be  helpful  to  others.  The  sense  of  the  sublimity 
of  the  character  grows  as  one  contemplates  that  by  gently 
easing  his  conscience,  holding  his  theology  in  abeyance, 
attending  church  once  a  year  and  partaking  of  the  sacred 
emblems  at  the  table  of  the  Lord,  he  might  have  enjoyed 
home,  peace,  rest,  riches,  and  gone  to  his  grave  laden  with 
the  cheap  honors  the  world  bestows. 

Christ  having  made  him  free,  he  would  not  allow  him- 
self to  be  drawn  into  bondage  of  any  man  or  body  of  men 
and  could  not  be  brought  to  pledge  fealty  to  any  chijrch 
or  body  of  believers  ;  neither  would  his  genuine  Christian 
spirit  allow  him  to  separate  ^himself  from  any  godly  man, 
all  souls  being  dear  to  him,  who  loved  God  and  Jesus 
Christ  and  lived  Christian  lives.     He  could  not  and  would 


Caspar  Schwenkfeld.  13 

not  play  tricks  with  conscience  ;  hence  whatever  God  gave 
him  to  see  he  maintained,  nor  would  he  yield  a  jot  or 
tittle  whatever  the  consequences  might  be.  This  was  not 
lack  of  prudence  or  judgment  but  Christ-like  fidelity  to 
truth.  He  loved  the  Catholic,  the  Lutheran,  the  Zwing- 
lian,  the  Anabaptist,  the  adherents  of  all  the  diverse  faiths, 
all  with  whom  he  came  into  contact,  and,  separating  person 
from  doctrine,  fearlessly  and  freely  criticised  what  seemed 
to  him  the  ecclesiasticism,  externalism,  worldliness  and 
temporizing  of  the  churches.  Criticising  all,  though  he 
was  not  prompted  by  any  desire  for  mere  controversy  or 
for  lording  it  over  others,  he  laid  himself  open  to  assault 
from  all  and  thus  became  the  target  for  many  a  venomous 
dart,  but  he  maintained  throughout  a  hopeful  spirit  and 
felt  assured  that  some  day  his  views,  which  indeed  were 
not  his  but  those  of  his  master,  would  be  adopted.  He 
felt  that  he  was  in  the  hands  of  a  loving  Father,  that 
even  the  hairs  of  his  head  were  all  numbered  and  that, 
though  the  future  was  unknown  to  him,  finally  redemption 
would  be  his.  He  as  a  lamb  brought  to  the  slaughter  and  as 
a  sheep  before  her  shearers  never  revenged  himself,  never 
returned  evil  for  evil,  never  persecuted.  He  blessed  them 
that  cursed  him,  did  good  to  them  that  hated  him  and  prayed 
for  them  that  despitefully  used  him  and  persecuted  him. 

He  stood  aloof  from  church  membership — not  because  he 
did  not  long  for  Christian  communion,  for  his  big  heart  had  a 
warm  spot  for  every  Christian  ;  not  because  he  undervalued 
the  Scriptures,  for  he  made  it  the  test  of  all  his  teaching ; 
not  because  he  rejected  the  sacraments  or  other  Christian 
services,  for  he  taught  that  the  external  in  worship  should 
be  observed  and  made  use  of  and  not  be  neglected ;  but 
because  he  could  not  assent  to  the  doctrine  of  the  "  means 
of  grace,"  because  the  patient,  lowly  spirit  of  Jesus  was 


14  The  Pennsylvania- German  Society. 

not  observed  by  the  churches,  because  the  Church  did  not 
do  its  work  in  the  spirit  of  freedom,  but  in  the  spirit  of 
bondage ;  because  the  churches  persecuted  him  for  not 
believing  as  they  did ;  because  the  church  used  the  sword 
in  defending  and  promoting  Christ's  Kingdom  and  he 
could  not  take  part  in  it,  since  it  is  the  duty  of  Christians 
to  withdraw  from  all  idolatry,  error  and  abuse  in  the  ser- 
vice of  God.  Less  than  three  years  before  his  death  he 
wrote  :  "I  would  rather  die  ten  deaths  than  join  churches 
that  on  account  of  their  statutes  and  articles  of  faith,  con- 
trary to  the  Bible,  the  example  of  Christ,  His  apostles,  the 
first  Christian  churches,  and  the  Church  Fathers,  burn, 
hang,  drown,  or  in  other  waj's  persecute  in  France,  Spain, 
Italy,  Germany  and  elsewhere  many  God-fearing  and 
pious  men  who  accept  Christ  and  the  Apostles'  Creed  and 
live  holy  lives." 

He  never  organized  or  tried  to  organize  the  adherents  of 
his  faith  into  a  church.  Possibly  he  is  open  to  criticism  on 
this  point ;  but  to  organize  meant  to  fight,  to  fight  meant 
to  betray  his  Christ,  to  betray  and  to  confess  were  in  his 
mind  diametrically  opposite  and  mutually  exclusive  ;  hence 
since  man's  salvation  does  not  depend  on  the  observance  of 
any  external  ceremony,  he  did  not  and  could  not  feel  any 
call  to  organize  a  body  of  believers  in  his  name.  Besides, 
to  call  a  body  of  believers  by  his  name  was  in  his  estimation 
vanity  and  to  be  shunned,  but  when  the  term  "  Schwenk- 
felders  "  as  a  name  for  his  brethren  became  a  term  of  re- 
proach he  raised  the  question  whether  it  was  not  the  duty 
of  those  who  believed  as  he  did  to  adopt  the  name,  lest  by 
Satan's  trickery  they  should  be  led  to  reject  the  doctrine 
under  a  semblance  of  rejecting  a  man's  name. 

Space  will  not  permit  any  consideration  of  the  contro- 
versies into  which  Schwenkfeld  was  drawn,  or  any  phi- 


A  Rare  Imfrint. 


15 


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FRONTISPIKCB  FROM  FOLIO    VOLUME    OF    SCHWENKFELD'S  WORKS  BY 
THE   FEIERABEND   PRESS  AT   FRANKFURT,   1564. 


1 6  The  Pennsylvania- Ger7nan  Society. 

losophizing  on  what  the  probable  effect  would  have  been 
had  his  spirit  and  attitude  been  assumed  and  exemplified 
in  life  by  all  those  who  were  received  into  Christian  fel- 
lowship or  who  took  the  name  of  Jesus  on  their  lips  in  his 
and  later  times.  It  may  not  be  amiss  to  close  this  chapter 
by  quoting  the  words  of  Rev.  Chester  D.  Hartranft,  D.D., 
Honorary  President  of  the  Hartford  Theological  Seminary, 
the  most  eminent  and  most  profound  living  authority  on 
the  subject.  He  says:  "  Schwenkfeld  insisted  on  a  new 
birth  and  a  reformation  of  morals  as  preparatory  to  the  re- 
construction of  doctrine  ;  the  restatement  and  development 
of  doctrine  was  to  be  the  outgrowth  of  a  regenerated  life 
in  Christ  under  the  Holy  Ghost.  More  emphasis  was  put 
upon  the  direct  reign  of  the  Spirit  than  on  the  formal  prin- 
ciple of  the  Scriptures,  though  by  no  means  to  any  neglect 
of  the  latter.  *  *  *  In  Schwenkfeld  we  find  the  source  of 
many  characteristics  of  modern  Protestantism  ;  the  func- 
tion of  the  laity,  the  right  of  representation,  the  freedom  of 
conscience,  the  separation  of  Church  and  State,  the  eccle- 
siola  in  ecclesia,  and  many  another  principle  that  is  now 
potent  in  all  branches  of  Christendom,  had  their  strongest 
champion  in  him  in  the  day  when  these  were  heretical 
principles  and  when  their  assertion  was  at  the  peril  of 
life  ;  there  is  scarcely  a  religious  school,  whether  pietistic 
or  liberal,  that  has  not  drawn  some  formative  impulse 
from  him  through  a  hitherto  unobserved  absorption." 


CHAPTER   II. 

The  Schwenkfei^ders  Before  Their  Migration  to 

Saxony. 

1  A  HE    followers  of    Schwenkfeld   were 
il  found  in  many  parts  of  Germany, 

though  mainly  in  Suabia  and  Silesia, 
in  Italy,  Switzerland,  Bohemia,  Mo- 
ravia and  Holland.  In  some  dis- 
tricts almost  whole  villages  adopted 
this  faith.  Many  princes  and  nobles 
were  won  to  the  cause  by  the  Chris- 
tian life  of  Schwenkfeld  and^  his 
disciples  and  by  their  system  of  doctrine,  to  be  persuaded 
later  to  leave  it  again  for  state  reasons.  Had  it  not  been 
for  this,  many  others,  both  of  the  nobility  and  of  the  common 
people,  would  probably  have  cast  their  lot  with  the  move- 
ment. In  spite  of  the  untoward  circumstances,  Schwenk- 
feld probably  had  at  least  4,000  adherents  at  the  time  of 
his  death. 

These  people  were  subject  to  adverse  winds  from  the 
very  first  and  later  were  practically  outlawed  by  the  Augs- 
burg Confession,  by  the  Truce  of  Nuremberg,  by  the 
Treaty  of  Augsburg  and  by  the  Treaty  of  Westphalia.  In 
the  time  of  persecution  many  embraced  the  provisions  of 
law  and  fled  to  Glatz  the  mountainous  region  west  of 
2  (17) 


i8  The  Pennsylvania- German  Society. 

Silesia,  where  more  protection  was  afforded.  At  times 
some  free  city  or  ruling  prince  might  tolerate  them  or  per- 
haps permit  them  to  have  their  own  churches  and  minis- 
ters to  be  rudely  robbed,  persecuted  or  exiled  again  by 
successors. 

Petitions  to  those  in  authority  were  suppressed  by  under- 
officers,  books  were  burned  or  cast  into  the  sea,  children 
were  by  force  baptized  into  a  faith  that  the  parents  could 
not  conscientiously  accept.  They  were  cast  into  dark 
dungeons,  to  waste  away  and  perish  neglected  in  life  and 
death.  They  were  placed  in  the  front  line  of  battle  in  order 
that  they  might  become  slayers  of  their  fellow-men  and  be 
slain  by  them,  but  they  would  not  shoot  others,  neither  were 
they  shot.  They  were  chained  to  the  rowers'  benches  on 
galleys  to  toil  as  rowers  and  then  to  be  cast  overboard 
when  life  had  fled.  They  found  their  graves  under  the 
waves  of  the  sea  or  by  the  church  walls  where  transgres- 
sors were  buried  or  on  the  village  commons  where  offal 
was  cast  and  the  cattle  grazed. 

Their  form  of  worship  was  quite  simple.  When  they 
had  no  churches  of  their  own,  they  met  at  the  houses  of 
the  older  members,  sang,  prayed,  read  the  Scriptures  and 
explained  the  Bible  either  by  comments  of  their  own  or  by 
reading  the  sermons  of  Schwenkfeld,  Hiller,  Werner  or 
Weichenhan.  In  the  training  of  the  young  they  were  very 
strict.  Their  Sunday  services,  according  to  one  of  their 
number,  Martin  John,  Jr.,  were  conducted  as  follows  :  "  In 
the  morning  after  each  had  offered  his  morning  prayer, 
the  people  met  and  sang  morning  hymns  standing,  after 
which  prayers  were  read  from  a  book  of  prayers  and 
hymns,  particularly  to  the  Holy  Ghost,  were  sung  stand- 
ing. Song  and  prayer  followed,  after  which  several  ser- 
mons were  read.     Dinner   having   been    served,   singing 


Pennsylvania  Manuscripts. 


19 


'"■    ""■    •*" 


■i»        'It}      umi       ■» 


1)i(/tv  ^.c^tj  ^tt^lti     Crrii^..  ^tii^trL    -^i  %tff'nnT»    ^«• 

Kt  /i<   9«OTnUeti    m      iini    ou/cr    d«n  <^tfiiii^m*  ,   or  Aai), 
(ct.  fux^  ,   ^^fi^fi^    ^M*    O^rfcikti  ;   hhV    a\ic^  an  /Ǥ 

1^i.>.    W>    3«»<    ^<''    ''•    i<  **' So»w, 
^Wrun    cnfiaiknkxti 

^a^inU  i^  *i<fittjn{fc    utii  W<U  lit  aajij<^tm.' 
tui^  (incm 

drOjfj   >^rrra     unJ    mjirfi'rv^  fvn^kn     ^e^a^tn  lav* 

iimo     »7  :»  ♦ 
JiiqtJcinJxn.       «f«    »^   J»^  9^'"4    ""^  fj^f'tjcn  'XCjijkni     id.' 


,„.    ,i^n     w.,     ^,..1      ntu     tm     tn        '^<rr- 


COtLSCTlON  OF  I,ETTERS   BEARING  ON  SCHWENKFELD   HISTORY 
IN   PENNSYLVANIA,    I745.       972  PP.,  7X12   INCHES. 


COPIED 


20  The  Pennsylvania- German  Society. 

and  prayer  were  resumed  after  which  reading  was  engaged 
in,  to  be  closed  by  singing  and  prayer  standing.  When 
they  met  during  the  week,  much  singing  was  practiced  and 
prayer  was  wont  to  be  offered  before  they  parted." 

At  the  opening  of  the  eighteenth  century,  the  Schwenk- 
felders  were  reduced  to  less  than  1,500  souls  all  told  and 
were  found  mainly  in  the  Silesian  villages  of  Harpersdorf, 
Armenruh,  Laubgrund,  Hockenau,  Lang-Neundorf,  H6- 
fel  and  Lauterseifen.  The}'^  were  honest,  quiet,  modest, 
industrious,  law-abiding,  and  as  farmers,  gardeners, 
weavers,  apothecaries,  merchants  and  professionalists  in 
general,  earned  a  living — precarious  indeed  at  times  — 
by  the  toil  of  their  hands.  On  account  of  their  industry 
and  frugality  they  were  in  general  protected  by  their 
landlords.  As  a  church  they  had  no  existence,  not  having 
at  any  time  been  allowed  for  state  reasons  to  have  free 
and  undisturbed  church  organizations.  The  condition  of 
the  people  at  this  time  is  described  at  considerable  length 
by  Balzer  Hoffman,  one  of  their  number,  later  their  pastor 
in  Pennsylvania.  Among  other  things  he  says  in  refer- 
ence to  this  period  of  time  :  "We  lived  scattered  in  dif- 
ferent villages  and  belonged  to  the  church  and  under  the 
ministers  with  respect  to  church  service  and  church  dues. 
We  had  no  knowledge  of  our  own  sj'stem  of  doctrine  ;  in- 
difference, lukewarmness  and  ignorance  prevailed ;  one 
family  after  another  gave  up  the  faith.  Intermarriage 
with  members  of  the  churches  took  place.  Those  who 
saw  the  tendency  hardly  dared  to  speak  on  account  of 
minister,  neighbor  and  government.  Books  of  new  and 
strange  doctrines  were  eagerly  read  and  popular  ministers 
listened  to  and  the  teachings  of  the  fathers  neglected. 
Confusion  followed  and  he  who  dared  to  say  aught  against 
this  condition  was  looked  upon  as  unduly  attached  to 
Schwenkfeld  and  pretending  to  be  wiser  than  the  fathers." 


Harder  sdorf.  2 1 

The  total  decay  and  extinction  of  this  confession  of  faith 
seemed  at  hand,  but  —  as  the  Schwenkfelder  ministers 
were  wont  to  say  —  "  God  chose  the  persecutor's  hand  to 
transplant  the  faith  into  the  soil  of  the  New  World  and 
thus  as  on  eagle's  wings  to  carry  it  away  from  the  land  of 
oppression."  A  Lutheran  minister  said  persecution  came 
as  a  punishment  from  God  because  the  Schwenkfelders 
did  not  become  Lutherans.  The  books  about  the  Schwenk- 
felders issued  at  this  time,  the  conduct  of  Neander, 
Schneider  and  others,  prepared  the  way  for  the  Jesuit 
Mission.  The  immediate  cause  of  the  mission  was  the 
effort  of  the  Lutherans  to  bring  about  the  conversion  of 
the  Schwenkfelders  to  the  Lutheran  faith.  Neander,  the 
Lutheran  pastor  of  Harpersdorf,  failing  in  this,  appealed 
to  the  magistracy.  The  attention  of  the  imperial  court 
was  called  to  the  case  and  there,  contrary  to  Neander's 
plans,  it  was  decided,  through  the  machinations  of  the 
Jesuits,  to  make  Catholics  of  the  few  remaining  Schwenk- 
felders. Although  Charles  VL  did  not  plan  to  drive  them 
from  their  homes,  he  was  fully  determined  to  tolerate  only 
the  religious  parties  sanctioned  by  the  Treaty  of  West- 
phalia and  thus  stood  ready  to  be  led  by  the  Jesuits.  A 
report  on  these  people  was  therefore  called  for  and  fur- 
nished in  the  summer  of  17 17  by  the  Catholic  and  the 
Lutheran  church  officers.  Consultation  and  laying  of  plans 
followed.  Judicial  examinations  of  the  Schwenkfelders 
were  soon  held.  They  were  questioned  on  doctrine,  their 
confession  of  faith  and  such  books  as  gave  light  on  their 
teaching  being  called  for,  and  were  then  exhorted  to  join 
one  of  the  three  sanctioned  religions. 

The  imperial  government  decided  to  entrust  the  con- 
version of  these  people  to  the  Jesuits  and  assigned  Johan- 
nes Milan  and  Carolus  Xavier  Regent  to  this  duty.    They 


22  The  Pennsylvania- German  Society. 

arrived  on  their  field  of  labor  in  December,  17 19,  and  by 
their  very  coming  brought  consternation  into  the  com- 
munity. They  immediately  went  to  work  and  at  first  tried 
to  convert  the  people  by  kind  words  and  argumentation. 
The  Lutherans  also  went  to  work  with  renewed  zeal  and 
tried  their  skill.  Rivalry  thus  sprang  up  and  there  was  a 
seeming  contest  between  the  Lutherans  and  Catholics  to 
see  who  could  pervert  the  most  Schwenkfelders.  The 
Jesuits  soon  made  threats  against  their  rivals  which  were 
not  heeded.  On  account  of  complaints,  the  Lutheran 
ministers  were  then  called  to  Liegnitz  and  in  the  presence 
of  the  Jesuit  missionaries  were  told  that  by  imperial  com- 
mand the  Schwenkfelders  were  to  be  given  over  to  the  two 
missionaries,  that  they  were  to  have  no  part  in  the  parochial 
rights  of  the  Lutherans,  that  henceforth  no  Lutheran  was 
to  perform  any  religious  service  for  the  Schwenkfelders 
who  were  to  be  buried  in  dishonor  in  the  carrion  pit,  on  the 
commons,  or  at  the  cross-roads  or  by  the  walls  of  ceme- 
teries, without  song  or  tolling  of  bells  or  train  of  friends 
and  mourners,  with  a  wheelbarrow  for  their  hearse.  Early 
in  17 2 1  Milan,  contrary  to  instructions,  began  to  compel 
the  women  and  children,  instead  of  the  grown  men,  to  at- 
tend the  missionary  services.  Matters  were  now  assum- 
ing such  a  serious  aspect  that  an  appeal  to  the  imperial 
court  was  decided  upon. 

Accordingly,  May  5,  1721,  Christopher  Hoffman,  Balzer 
Hoffman  and  Balzer  Hoffrichter  left  for  Vienna  the  im- 
perial city  as  deputies  to  make  a  plea  for  toleration  for 
their  severely  oppressed  brethren  at  home.  Hoffrichter 
did  not  stay  long  but  the  other  two  remained  over  four 
years.  Neither  of  these  deputies  had  any  knowledge  of 
the  method  of  doing  business  at  the  imperial  court ; 
officials  who  assisted  them  did  so  at  the  risk  of  losing  their 


A-p-pcal  to  the  Evi^eror.  23 

positions ;  they  had  been  grossly  misrepresented ;  their 
faith  was  not  even  recognized  by  the  Treaty  of  Westphalia  ; 
as  a  people  they  were  hated,  despised,  and  maligned  by 
Church  and  State.  Secret  and  true  friends  were  found, 
however,  in  their  need,  by  whose  kind  aid  and  counsel  in 
part,  seventeen  memorials  were  presented  to  the  imperial 
court  of  Charles  VI.  During  this  time  Balzer  Hoffman 
found  time  to  write  letters,  visit  friends,  and  compose 
hymns,  sermons  and  extensive  tracts  on  religious  subjects. 
The  expense  incurred  by  the  deputies  must  have  fallen 
particularly  heavy  on  a  people  already  impoverished  by 
the  ravages  of  war  and  the  burdensome  fines  imposed  by 
the  Jesuits.  According  to  one  account  their  leader  Mel- 
chior  Schultz  confessed  that  to  secure  toleration  they  spent 
19,000  rix-dollars  ($10,000-12,500). 

The  condition  of  the  Schwenkfelders  at  this  time  is 
well  described  by  the  Hon.  C.  Heydrick,  in  his  Histori- 
cal Sketch  of  the  Schivenkf elders.  He  says  :  "  When  pa- 
rents refused  to  present  their  children  for  instruction,  they 
were  imprisoned  ;  women  were  placed  in  the  stocks  and 
compelled  to  lie  in  cold  rooms  in  the  winter  without  as 
much  as  straw  under  them  ;  and  when  imprisonment  failed 
to  bring  the  people  with  their  children  to  the  missionary 
services,  fines  and  extortions  were  added  ;  marriage  was 
forbidden  unless  the  parties  would  promise  to  rear  their 
offspring  in  the  Catholic  faith,  and  when  young  people  went 
into  other  countries  to  be  married  they  were  imprisoned 
for  it  on  their  return.  The  dead  were  not  allowed  Chris- 
tian burial  in  their  church-yards  where  their  ancestors  of 
the  same  faith  slept,  but  were  required  to  be  interred  in 
cattle-ways  and  sorrowing  friends  were  forbidden  to  follow 
the  remains  of  loved  ones  to  these  ignominious  resting 
places.   *  *   *    The  missionaries  claimed  guardianship  of 


24  The  Pennsylvania- Gei'man  Society. 

all  orphan  children  of  Schwenkfelders,  and  thus  the  last 
hours  of  the  dying  were  embittered  by  the  thought  that 
their  children  must  be  educated  in  a  faith  that  they  them- 
selves abhorred.  And  to  prevent  escape  from  the  horrible 
situation  in  which  they  were  placed  the  people  were  for- 
bidden to  sell  their  property  or  under  any  pretext  to  leave 
the  country  and  severe  penalties  were  denounced  against 
any  person  who  should  assist  a  Schwenkfelder  to  escape 
by  purchasing  his  property  or  otherwise." 

The  last  appeal  of  the  deputies,  dated  July  28,  1725, 
was  answered  by  a  decree  from  the  imperial  court  signed 
"Charles"  which,  among  the  stringent  regulations,  con- 
tained these  words:  "Furthermore,  the  Schwenkfelder 
congregations  in  their  submissive  requests  to  be  tolerated 
in  their  confession  of  faith  in  the  future  are  once  for  all 
refused,  and  they  shall  never  hereafter  venture  to  present 
new  supplications."  This  decree  meant  for  the  Schwenk- 
felders new  terrors  and  for  the  missionaries  renewed  zeal 
and  redoubled  efforts  to  let  none  of  their  game  escape. 
For  those  who  were  most  firm  in  their  convictions  it  meant 
flight,  and  accordingly  plans  were  laid  in  secret  for  relief 
by  this  method. 

The  first  baptism  by  force  took  place  September  15, 
1725,  when  the  child  of  George  Mentzel  only  three  weeks 
old  was  taken  away  from  the  mother's  side  by  dragoons, 
carried  to  the  priest  and  baptized.  The  father  and  grand- 
father were  imprisoned  for  having  refused  to  bring  the 
child  to  baptism  at  the  priest's  command.  The  first  one 
to  flee  was  widow  Barbara  Marckel  (nee  Yeakel),  who, 
with  her  four  children,  went  to  Friedersdorf,  October  17, 
1725.  On  the  twenty-sixth  of  October,  Adam  Wiegner, 
in  behalf  of  the  rest,  wrote  to  Holland  and  asked  the  Men- 
nonites  to  use  their  influence  to  secure  toleration  and  cer- 


THE    PENNSYLVANlA-GERnAN    SOCIETY. 


.■^-■A-    ■   ". 


^1 


;.  -    '  IrhtfnYrcdunilJivti 


K  -m 


'•^^^ 


CliRlSTIA/N    HOHBURG. 

JULY    23.    1607— OCT.    29.    1675. 


Sojotirn  to   Gdrlitz.  25 

tain  rights  for  them  in  their  homes.  This  letter  was  re- 
ferred to  the  church  in  Amsterdam.  Investigations  were 
instituted  and  while  these  were  in  progress,  a  second  letter 
was  written  by  Wiegner,  December  3,  in  which  he  re- 
peated the  request  for  intercession  in  the  first  letter  and 
asked  whether  they  might  be  able  to  find  a  place  of  abid- 
ing and  means  of  support  in  Holland.  The  oppression 
becoming  more  severe  and  answers  from  Holland  being 
delayed,  the  Schwenkfelders  wrote  to  Zinzendorf  and 
begged  him  to  assist  them  in  finding  a  place  in  Herrnhut 
during  the  coming  winter.  The  count  immediately  re- 
plied that  in  case  of  flight  he  would  be  glad  to  receive 
them  and  provide  homes  for  them.  Through  a  mutual 
friend,  Pastor  Schwedler,  an  asylum  was  also  provided 
for  them  at  Gorlitz.  Places  of  refuge  having  thus  been 
located,  when  the  storm  became  more  severe  one  family 
after  another  fled  during  February  and  the  following 
months  by  night,  abandoning  homes,  and  kindred  and  all, 
taking  naught  with  them  but  sorrow  and  poverty  as  Adam 
Wiegner  wrote. 

Thus  it  came  to  pass  that  the  Schwenkfelders  left  their 
homes  and  lands,  their  brothers  and  sisters,  their  fathers 
and  mothers  for  Jesus'  sake,  to  sojourn  for  a  time  in  Sax- 
ony. It  is  irrelevant  to  the  present  undertaking  to  discuss 
the  destiny  of  those  that  remained.  It  must  suffice  to  say 
that  many  forsook  the  faith  and  that  they  did  not  get  their 
full  religious  liberty  until  Frederick  the  Great  claimed  and 
secured  Silesia  and  proclaimed  freedom  of  faith  to  all  its 
subjects.  The  handful  left,  though  they  had  remained 
true  in  adversity,  could  not  stand  prosperity  and  gradually 
forsook  the  faith  of  their  fathers.  A  century  later,  in 
1826,  the  last  professing  Schwenkfelder,  Melchior  Dorn, 
was  laid  to  his  rest  at  Harpersdorf. 


CHAPTER  III. 


The  Schwenkfelders  in  Saxony  and  their  Migra- 
tion TO  Pennsylvania. 

EARLY  all  the  Schwenkfelders  exiled 
from  Silesia  found  a  place  of  refuge  in 
Upper  Lusatia,  the  eastern  part  of  the 
electorate  Saxony,  ruled  over  during 
their  stay  by  Frederick  Augustus  I. 
and  his  son,  Frederick  Augustus  II. 
The  Treaty  of  Westphalia  defined 
their  religious  rights  which  of  course 
regarded  them  here  also  as  outlaws.  Some  were  received 
at  Herrnhut,  to  be  transferred  later  to  Berthelsdorf,  who 
thus  became  a  part  of  the  diversified  population  of  that 
celebrated  community ;  some  were  received  at  Gorlitz 
and  a  few  at  other  places  and  thus  between  400  and  500 
Silesians  gradually  found  homes  on  the  soil  of  Saxony. 

At  Herrnhut,  Zinzendorf  seems  to  have  given  to  them  the 
right  of  buying  land  and  building  homes  ;  at  Gorlitz  they 
could  only  rent  places  and  were  not  allowed  to  hold  reli- 
gious w^orship  together  in  public  or  in  private.  They 
were  in  general  received  so  well,  however,  that  they  began 
to  think  of  staying  permanently  and  made  preparations  ac- 
cordingly.    Man}'^  of  them  were  in  destitute  circumstances, 

(26) 


Berthelsdorf  and  G'drlitz.  27 

but  they  must  have  begun  to  accumulate  property,  for  by 
the  stories  circulated  and  put  in  print  one  must  infer  that 
they  were  at  least  looked  upon  as  people  of  means. 
From  a  reply  to  questions  made  by  the  Schwenkfelders 
about  this  time  the  following  figures  as  to  means  of  liveli- 
hood are  gathered :  spinners,  29 ;  day-laborers,  9 ;  car- 
penters, 5  ;  dealers,  6 ;  shoemakers,  3  ;  linen-weavers,  3  ; 
farmers,  3  ;  cabinet-maker,  i  ;  tailor,  i. 

They  probably  attended  the  religious  services  of  the 
church  at  Berthelsdorf  more  or  less  regularly  but  they 
could  not  see  their  way  clear  to  become  members,  for  in 
essence  it  was  a  Lutheran  body  and  to  be  received  into  it 
meant  to  the  faithful  Schwenkfelder  the  betrayal  and  sur- 
render of  many  precious  truths.  It  was  probably  on  ac- 
count of  their  holding  aloof  from  joining  church  that  they 
were  called  Silesian  separatists.  Zinzendorf  posed  as 
"  Reformer  of  the  Schwenkfelders,"  and  by  his  course  of 
action  soon  made  some  surmise  that  it  would  be  policy  for 
them  to  become  church  members  if  they  wished  to  remain 
in  peace,  although  they  were  not  disturbed  on  account  of 
doctrine  or  action.  At  Gorlitz  the  Schwenkfelders  at- 
tended the  public  worship  of  the  pastor  Reverend  Schaef- 
fer  for  a  time,  but  after  a  while  dropped  out  on  account 
of  the  language  concerning  them  used  in  the  pulpit  one 
Sunday. 

The  condition  of  the  religious  life  of  the  Schwenkfel- 
ders was  probably  not  as  flourishing  as  might  have  been 
desired.  They  were  not  organized  as  a  body  and  were  thus 
deprived  of  the  advantages  of  organized  and  well-directed 
pastoral  labor.  They  were  in  the  habit  of  thinking  for 
themselves  and  thus  did  not  reconcile  themselves  readily 
to  the  well-meant  advice  and  directions  of  others.  Vari- 
ous other  things  helped  to  thwart  their  religious  growth. 


28  The  Pennsylvania- German  Society. 

They  frequently  met,  however,  in  private  gatherings  at 
which,  as  well  as  at  their  family  worship,  the  sermons  of 
their  early  leaders  were  read  and  the  hymns  sung  that  the 
fathers  used  to  sing.  In  1732  it  was  reported  that  in 
Berthelsdorf  the  Schwenkfelders  allowed  their  children  to 
be  baptized,  but  that  they  could  not  be  brought  to  become 
members  of  the  church.  One  of  their  own  leaders  said  : 
*'I  am  deeply  pained  when  I  see  the  pitiable  decline  in 
life  and  doctrine  among  our  people."  Another  of  their 
leaders  said:  '*The  heart  is  cold,  faint,  weary;  zeal  for 
the  truth,  spiritless  and  the  resolution  for  reformation  and 
consecration  to  God  wanting."  In  view  of  this  condition 
of  affairs,  George  Weiss,  one  of  their  number,  began  the 
composition  of  a  series  of  letters  addressed  to  various 
members  in  the  Schwenkfelder  community.  These  were 
of  a  doctrinal  and  devotional  nature  and  were  prepared  in 
the  hope  that  they  might  be  read,  reread,  discussed,  cir- 
culated and  compared  with  the  standards  of  doctrine. 

While  they  were  thus  living  their  somewhat  precarious 
religious  life,  the  time  was  drawing  nigh  when,  under 
God's  providence,  another  migration  was  to  take  place. 
The  Jesuits,  provoked  by  their  own  defeat  in  their  efforts 
at  mission  work  and  by  the  protection  afforded  these  people 
by  Count  Zinzendorf,  had  for  some  time  in  various  ways 
engendered  trouble  for  the  Count,  the  Moravians  and  the 
Schwenkfelders,  and  were  anxious  to  capture  the  game 
that  had  escaped  from  them  by  midnight  flights.  Ac- 
cordingly when  the  elector  died,  to  be  succeeded  by  his 
son  in  1733,  the  Jesuits  made  use  of  the  chance  afforded 
by  applying  to  the  young  ruler  for  the  enforced  return  of 
the  Schwenkfelders  to  Silesia.  The  ministers  at  Dresden 
gave  a  hint  of  this  to  these  people  and  advised  them  to 
move  to  some  other  place.     An  imperial  edict  was  issued 


An  Imperial  Edict.  29 

at  Dresden,  April  4,  1733,  addressed  to  the  syndic  at 
Bautzen,  the  superior  office  of  Upper  Lusatia,  to  the  ef- 
fect that  the  concilium  abcwidi  should  be  promulgated  to 
the  Schwenkfelders  by  Zinzendorf,  that  they  were  to  go 
singly,  and  that  he  must  see  to  it  that  the  decree  was  carried 
out.  Upon  this  George  Weiss  was  appealed  to  and  con- 
sented to  take  charge  of  the  religious  training  and  instruc- 
tion of  the  people.  Meetings  were  held  by  him  on  Sunday 
evenings.  He  read  and  explained  hymns,  and  at  the  re- 
quest of  the  parents  catechetical  instruction  was  also  started 
in  connection  with  his  other  labors.  After  consultation, 
prayer  meetings  were  held,  at  which  reading,  singing, 
prayer  and  oral  testimony  were  engaged  in.  Space  per- 
mits but  the  mere  mention  of  the  fact  that  the  secular 
training  of  the  children  was  not  overlooked,  and  that  some, 
like  Christopher  Schultz,  received  careful  culture. 

Notice  having  been  served  that  migration  would  have  to 
take  place  within  a  year,  the  serious  question  arose  where 
to  go.  The  King  of  Prussia  had  made  offers  to  them  sev- 
eral times  before  the  migration  of  1726  to  come  and  settle 
near  Berlin  with  the  purpose  of  establishing  linen  manu- 
factories, but  serious  objections  had  prevented  their  accep- 
tance. At  the  time  of  the  ffight  they  had  asked  the  Men- 
nonites  of  Holland  whether  they  could  perhaps  find  a  place 
in  their  neighborhood  to  dwell  and  earn  a  living  and  had 
received  an  adverse  answer.  Their  friend,  Hanish  the 
merchant  of  Gorlitz,  had  advised  them  to  try  to  secure, 
through  some  mutual  friend,  toleration  from  the  King  of 
Poland  and  refuge  on  the  estates  of  the  treasurer  of  the 
crown,  but  fate  seemed  to  be  against  them.  Several  had 
made  a  trip  to  Hamburg  to  spy  out  a  place  where  they 
might  dwell  together  and  had  failed  in  their  efforts. 
Brandenburg,    Isenberg,  Weisenberg    had    been   tried  in 


30  The  Pennsylvania- German  Society. 

vain.  They  applied  to  the  Prince  of  Anhalt-Cothen,  to 
be  disappointed  again.  Thus  they  had  often  tried,  and 
though  at  times  they  were  almost  successful,  they  knew  not 
where  to  go. 

No  place  seeming  to  be  in  sight  in  the  old  world,  they 
turned  their  thoughts  across  the  sea  to  free  America,  where 
so  man}^  of  the  down-trodden  and  oppressed  had  found 
freedom  from  the  bonds  of  tyranny.  Zinzendorf,  who  was 
also  alarmed  at  this  time,  was  looking  the  same  way  to  find 
homes  for  the  people  under  his  care,  the  Moravians,  over 
whom  the  same  fate  seemed  to  hang  that  had  come  to  the 
Schwenkfelders.  His  eye  rested  on  Georgia,  which  had 
just  been  carved  out  of  the  seemingly  boundless  expanse 
beyond  the  Atlantic,  and  which  was  planned  to  be  a  home 
for  those  fleeing  from  religious  oppression.  He  proposed 
to  them  the  plan  of  migrating  in  a  body  to  Georgia. 

They  expressed  a  willingness  akin  to  an  eager  desire 
to  go  there  if  he  could  arrange  with  the  king  that  they 
should  have  entire  liberty  of  conscience,  free  land  and  free 
transportation.  In  a  letter  to  him  they  said:  *'It  is  not 
our  thought  to  be  great  or  to  try  to  do  great  things  in  the 
world,  but  rather  to  seek  to  be  small  and  to  direct  our  pur- 
poses and  settlement  according  to  God's  will.  We  hope 
to  have  a  close  connection  even  in  temporal  affairs  so  that 
our  confession  of  faith  may  be  upheld  and  that  such  ar- 
rangements, regulations,  and  conditions  may  be  met  as 
will  enable  us  to  win  our  daily  bread  without  becoming  a 
burden  in  a  strange  country."  They  were  too  poor  to  pay 
their  own  ship  passage  and  were  very  solicitous  to  escape 
impending  slavery  and  dispersion  in  consequence  of  being 
compelled  to  go  as  redemptioners.  Zinzendorf  tried  to 
meet  these  conditions  and  entered  into  negotiations  with 
the  English  minister  in  Copenhagen  and  the  German  agent 


Migration  to  Pennsylvania.  31 

of  the  *'  Trustees  for  Establishing  the  Colony  of  Georgia." 
According  to  Fresenius,  Reichel,  Hoffman  and  Schultz, 
these  conditions  could  not  be  met  by  Zinzendorf  at  the 
proper  time  and  thus  the  Schwenkfelders  became  free 
from  the  hand  of  the  count,  a  result  planned  by  God  for 
which  they  had  many  reasons  for  thankfulness.  The 
scheme  of  Zinzendorf  not  having  materialized,  thoughts 
turned  to  Pennsylvania  anew,  for  they  had  known  of  the 
place  for  some  time  already.  A  letter,  probably  written  by 
Zinzendorf,  shows  that  they  contemplated  going  to  Penn- 
sylvania by  way  of  Hamburg  before  the  close  of  1733. 
They  secured  permission  of  the  crown  of  England  to  mi- 
grate to  this  home  of  the  free  and  made  preparations  to 
go,  turning  into  money  whatever  they  could.  On  the 
thirteenth  of  April,  1734,  but  a  few  days  before  they  began 
to  pull  their  tent-stakes  to  start  on  their  long  trip,  a  great 
conference  was  held  at  which  George  Weiss  read  a  rigorous 
paper  on  the  past  and  present  condition  of  the  Schwenk- 
felders and  promulgated  stringent  rules  and  regulations  for 
their  conduct  in  various  relations  after  arriving  in  Penn- 
sylvania. 

The  actual  migration  began  on  Tuesday,  April  20,  when 
the  first  family  left  Berthelsdorf.  In  small  companies 
others  followed,  bound  for  Pirna,  the  place  of  embarkation 
on  the  Elbe  River.  They  went  to  Pirna  in  small  com- 
panies because  the  order  to  migrate  forbade  their  going  in 
one  body,  a  regulation  that  gave  them  no  little  concern. 
All  having  arrived  by  April  28,  they  took  ship  and  left 
Pirna  on  the  afternoon  of  the  following  day,  bound  for 
Altona.  They  passed  Dresden  the  same  day,  Magde- 
burg on  the  sixth  of  May,  and  arrived  at  Hamburg  on  the 
sixteenth  of  May.  The  next  morning  at  six  they  disem- 
barked   at    Altona    where    they    remained    eleven    days. 


32  The  Pennsylvania- German  Society, 

They  left  this  place  in  three  vessels  on  the  twenty-eighth 
of  May  and  arrived  in  Amsterdam,  the  first  two  vessels  on 
the  fourth  and  the  last  on  the  sixth  of  June.  At  Haarlem 
the}^  stayed  fifteen  days,  when  they  left  for  Rotterdam, 
where  they  embarked  on  the  ship  Saint  Andrczu, 
Stedman,  Captain,  on  the  twenty-first  of  June.  On  the 
twenty-eighth  of  June  they  sailed  away  from  Rotterdam, 
bound  for  Plymouth,  England,  where  they  arrived  on  the 
seventeenth  of  July.  On  the  twenty-ninth  of  July  they 
sailed  from  Plymouth  and  the  next  da}"^  found  themselves 
rocking  on  the  waves  of  the  Atlantic  Ocean.  On  the  seven- 
teenth of  September  they  heard  the  welcome  w^ords, 
"  Land,  Land,"  from  the  lips  of  the  watcher  at  the  mast, 
and  five  days  later  the  booming  of  cannon  announced  their 
arrival  in  Philadelphia. 

On  their  voyage  down  the  Elbe  from  Pirna  to  Altona 
they  were  crowded  on  the  vessels,  but  they  had  the  com- 
fort of  going  ashore  several  times  a  day  if  they  chose.  At 
Magdeburg  they  laid  in  a  supply  of  bread  to  last  until 
they  reached  Altona,  eleven  days  later.  Quite  a  number 
of  the  party  was  sick,  but  no  one  died  during  this  part  of 
the  journey.  In  Altona,  Mennonite  brethren,  the  van 
der  Smissens,  procured  lodging  for  them  and  lavishly  cared 
for  all  their  wants  during  their  eleven  days'  stay,  and, 
after  providing  for  their  trip  from  Altona  to  Haarlem,  dis- 
missed them  without  taking  any  remuneration  for  their 
kindness  and  services.  The  three  vessels  on  which  they 
embarked  were  soon  parted  on  account  of  storms  and  did 
not  meet  again  until  they  came  to  Haarlem.  Considerable 
alarm  was  felt  for  the  belated  vessels  and  as  soon  as  their 
arrival  was  announced  the  Byuschanse  brothers,  their 
wives,  Melchior  Schultz,  brother  of  the  surveyor  David 
Schultze  of  Pennsylvania,  and  other  friends  came  out  in 


THE    FENNSYLVANlA-GERnA/N     SOCIETY. 


HEMORIES    OF    BYQONE    DAYS. 


On  the  Atlantic.  33 

boats  to  meet  them  and  inquire  about  the  well-being  of  the 
passengers.  They  found  lodging  in  quarters  provided  by 
the  Byuschanse  brothers  and  were  protected  from  intrusion 
by  a  guard  placed  before  the  house  with  instructions  to 
admit  no  one  except  on  business  or  by  permission.  The 
same  parties  made  a  contract  with  Captain  Stedman  for 
conveying  the  company  to  Pennsylvania  at  their  own  ex- 
pense at  the  following  rates  :  persons  over  fifteen  years, 
thirty  rix-dollars,  persons  under  fifteen,  fifteen  rix-dollars, 
and  children  under  four,  free.  They  thrust  provisions  of 
all  kinds  for  the  voyage  on  them  and,  against  their  strong 
protest,  insisted  on  doing  these  deeds  of  kindness,  saying 
even  to  those  who  could  pay  their  own  passage  that  they 
should  help  their  poorer  brethren  on  coming  to  Pennsyl- 
vania. They  even  gave  224  rix-dollars  for  a  poor-fund 
among  them.  The  Schwenkfelders,  before  leaving  Haar- 
lem, prepared  a  detailed  account  of  their  experiences  which 
they  sent  to  their  friends  in  Saxony. 

When  they  finally  embarked  on  the  Saint  Andrew  they 
found  that  they  had  residents  of  the  Palatinate  as  fellow- 
emigrants,  thus  swelling  the  number  to  three  hundred. 
The  voyage  across  the  Atlantic  must  have  been  wearisome 
and  distressing.  At  one  time  a  calm  would  befall  them 
so  that  the  sails  would  hang  motionless  and  the  rudder 
was  tied.  At  other  times  contrary  winds  took  them  out 
of  their  course.  Storms,  accompanied  by  lightning,  over- 
took them,  waves  dashed  over  the  vessel  even  up  into 
the  sails,  the  timbers  creaked,  the  companion-ways  and 
hatches  were  closed  tight,  passengers  almost  stifled  in  the 
hold  were  tossed  about  unable  to  sit  or  lie.  The  hot  winds 
from  the  south  and  southwest  oppressed  them.  Even  their 
bedding  was  drenched  by  the  waters  of  the  sea  that  found 
its  way  through  the  hatches.  Their  food,  consisting  of  stale 
3 


34 


The  Pennsylvania- German  Society, 


bread,  beef,  rice,  syrup,  pork,  peas,  groats  and  dried  cod- 
fish, became  unpalatable  and  the  drinking  water  positively- 
nauseating.  Nor  did  death  leave  them  undisturbed ;  nine 
times  did  they  see  their  own  weighted  with  sand  or  tied 
to  a  board  carried  to  the  edge  of  the  vessel,  gently  lifted 
over  the  side  and  consigned  to  the  briny  deep.  Who 
would  not  have  felt  like  singing  with  them  on  such  occa- 
sions :  Ach  ivie  elend  ist  unsere  Zeit.  What  a  pleasure 
it  must  have  been  to  see  their  friend  George  Schultz  —  in 
America  since  1731  —  coming  over  the  side  of  the  vessel 
on  their  day  of  arrival,  bringing  with  him  an  abundance 
of  apples  and  palatable  beer.  It  is  pleasant  to  note  these 
words  in  the  Reise  Beschreibting  by  Christopher  Schultz  : 
"  We  had  a  very  good  captain  who  strictly  observed  the 
articles  of  contract,  and  very  good  sailors  who  showed 
great  patience  with  us."  Though  they  endured  many 
hardships  they  fared  better  than  many  other  immigrants. 


CHAPTER  IV. 


The  Settlement  in  Pennsylvania. 

ENNSYLVANIA'S  free  soil  having 
finally  been  reached,  the  first  duty  of 
immigrants  was  to  proceed  to  the 
proper  officers  and  declare  their  allegi- 
ance to  the  King  of  England  and  their 
fidelity  to  the  province.  Accordingly 
the  males  of  these  newly-arrived 
Schwenkfelders  over  sixteen  years  of 
age  went  early  on  the  morning  of  Sep- 
tember 23  to  the  Court  House  to  meet 
such  obligation.  The  minutes  of  the  Provincial  Council 
make  this  reference  to  the  event  :  "At  the  Court  House 
of  Philadelphia,  September  the  12th  (Old  Style)  1734. 
Present  :  The  Honorable,  the  Lieutenant  Governor,  The 
Mayor  of  the  City  and  others  of  the  Magistracy.  Eighty- 
nine  Palatines  who,  with  their  families  making  in  all  two 
Hundred  and  sixty  one  Persons,  were  imported  here  in  the 
Ship  Saint  Andrew,  John  Stedman,  Master,  from  Rotter- 
dam but  last  from  Plymouth  as  by  clearance  from  thence, 
this  day  took  and  subscribed  the  effect  of  the  government 
oaths  and  also  the  Declaration  prescribed  by  the  Order  of 
Council  of  the  21st  of  September,  1727." 

The   declaration  referred   to   reads  as   follows:     "We 
Subscribers,  Natives  and  late  Inhabitants  of  the  Palatinate 

(35) 


36  The  Pennsylvania-  German  Society. 

upon  the  Rhine  and  places  adjacent,  having  transported 
ourselves  and  families  into  this  Province  of  Pennsylvania, 
a  Colony  subject  to  the  crown  of  Great  Britain  in  hopes 
and  expectation  of  finding  a  retreat  and  peaceable  settle- 
ment therein,  do  solemnly  promise  and  engage  that  we 
will  be  faithful  and  bear  true  allegiance  to  his  MAJESTY 
KING  GEORGE  THE  SECOND  and  his  successors, 
Kings  of  Great  Britain  and  will  be  faithful  to  the  Proprietor 
of  this  Province ;  And  that  we  will  demean  ourselves 
peaceably  to  all  His  Majesties  subjects  and  strictly  observe 
and  conform  to  the  laws  of  England  and  of  this  Province, 
to  the  utmost  of  our  power  and  best  of  our  understanding." 

Christopher  Schultz  says  that  they  could  not  take  the 
prescribed  oath  on  account  of  scruples  of  conscience,  that 
they  were  quite  willingly  excused  from  this  and  that  they 
pledged  their  allegiance  by  affirmation  or  mit  einetn  Hand- 
schlage. 

On  the  day  following,  September  24,  a  day  of  thanks- 
giving was  observed,  their  pastor,  George  Weiss  taking 
the  lead.  This  was  the  origin  of  Memorial  Day  observed 
each  year  ever  since.  Where  this  service  was  held  does 
not  appear  to  be  recorded.  The  Court  House  then  stood  at 
the  present  Second  and  Market  Streets.  They  may  have 
met  in  the  Friends'  Meeting  House  close  by,  in  one  of  the 
other  churches  or  perchance  in  the  woods  only  a  short 
distance  above  Market  Street.  Philadelphia,  then  only 
fifty  years  old,  had  perhaps  13,000  inhabitants  with  farms, 
fields  and  woods  reaching  practically  down  as  far  as  the 
present  Vine  Street,  most  of  the  1,500  houses  being  south  of 
High  Street  as  Market  was  then  called.  Concerning  this 
day  of  prayer,  or  Geddchtniss-Tag  as  it  is  commonly 
called,  Hon.  S.  W.  Pennypacker  well  says  :  "  There  were 
many  sects  which  were  driven  to  America  by  religious 


Commemoration  of  Arrival.  37 

persecutions,  but  of  them  all  the  Schwenkfelders  are  the 
only  one  which  established  and  since  steadily  maintained 
a  Memorial  day  to  commemorate  its  deliverance  and  give 
thanks  to  the  Lord  for  it.  To  George  Weiss  belongs  an 
honor  which  cannot  be  accorded  to  John  Robinson,  Wil- 
liam Penn,  or  George  Calvert.  The  beautiful  example  set 
by  German  was  followed  neither  by  Pilgrim  or  Quaker." 
Here  was  a  handful  of  poor  and  despised  immigrants, 
providentially  saved  from  years  of  service  as  redemptioners 
to  pay  their  ship-passage  by  the  charitable  hearts  in  Hol- 
land that  aided  them,  freed  but  a  day  from  the  thralldom 
of  centuries  of  cruel  religious  oppression,  unaccustomed 
to  the  art  of  church  government  or  untrammeled  public 
divine  services,  firmly  convinced  that  it  was  their  duty  to 
maintain  in  their  thinking  and  living  the  principles  of  civil 
and  religious  liberty.  Behind  them  was  the  deep  sea  made 
memorable  by  a  tedious  voyage  in  deep  sorrow  and  grief ; 
beyond  the  sea  was  the  fatherland  whose  tale  of  ten  score 
years  of  cruelty  was  ineradicably  engraved  on  memory's 
tablet ;  before  them  an  unknown  country  filled  with  fabled 
wild  beasts  and  cruel  savages  without  a  place  of  their  own 
on  which  to  rest  their  weary  heads.  Their  valiant  endur- 
ance in  grievous  trials  is  an  undoubted  evidence  that  on 
the  altars  of  their  hearts  the  sacred  fires  of  devotion  to 
their  God  w^ere  burning  brightly  and  that  in  spite  of  stifling 
persecution  their  faith  in  the  mercy  and  goodness  of  their 
Saviour  had  not  wavered.  Reverend  C.  Z.  Weiser,  in  his 
paper  on  Caster  Schzvenkfeld  and  the  Schwenkfelders, 
says  :  *'  I  have  often,  when  looking  at  the  Landing  of  the 
Pilgrims^  asked  myself,  why  some  one  of  our  Pennsyl- 
vania artists  had  not  long  ago  taken  the  Landing  of  the 
Schzuenkf elders  under  his  pencil.  Such  a  picture  would 
help  to  perpetuate   an   historical   event  which   transpired 


38  The  Pennsylvania- German  Society. 

within  the  career  and  limits  of  Pennsylvania,  which  ought 
not  to  be  forgotten  and  over  which  any  of  the  New  Eng- 
land States  would  grow  proud." 

Before  the  company  breaks  and  scatters  it  may  be  well 
to  take  a  hasty  glance  at  them.  According  to  the  list 
endorsed  by  John  Stedman,  the  Captain  of  the  Saint  An- 
drexv  there  are  in  the  company  81  males  and  83  females, 
or  about  40  families  of  whom  a  dozen  or  more  have  chil- 
dren by  their  side.  Tobias  Hartranft  brought  five  chil- 
dren ;  Christopher  Schubert,  three  ;  Reverend  Balzer  Hoff- 
man, three  ;  George  Dresher,  three  ;  Christopher  Kriebel, 
four;  Widower  David  Yeakel,  six  ;  Widow  ReginaYeakel, 
five ;  Widow  Susanna  Schultz,  four ;  Widow  Susanna 
Wiegner,  three.  Other  families  have  one  or  two  chil- 
dren. There  are  also  orphans,  as  for  instance  the  three 
Schultz  brothers.  The  more  common  family  names  are  : 
Anders,  Dresher,  Hartranft,  Heydrick,  Hoffman,  Kriebel, 
Meschter,  Neuman,  Reinwald,  Schultz,  Yeakel.  Many 
of  the  children  are  but  babes  who  have  not  yet  learned  to 
coo  or  to  lisp  the  simple  call  to  father  or  mother.  In  age, 
the  company  ranges  from  the  helpless  babe  Christopher 
Meschter,  less  than  four  months  old,  to  the  aged  Ursula 
Hoffman,  past  71.  Of  the  number,  four  have  come  across 
the  mighty  deep  to  make  their  last  resting  place  in  some 
forgotten  city  of  the  dead  within  the  present  limits  of 
Philadelphia  ere  two  weeks  have  sped  away.  Of  the 
young  orphans  in  the  company,  Christopher  Yeakel  lived 
until  1810,  dying  at  the  age  of  91 ;  Susanna  Yeakel,  until 
1812,  as  Mrs.  Abraham  Wiegner,  dying  at  the  age  of  83, 
and  Rosina  Yeakel,  until  1820,  as  Mrs.  Casper  Seipt, 
dying  at  the  age  of  90. 

They  have  in  their  midst  a  Balzer  Hoffman  who  has 
stood  before  Charles  VI.,  and  through   long  and  weary 


Christopher  Weigner.  39 

years  pleaded  for  toleration  for  his  brethren  in  the  faith, 
and  who  has  made  a  reputation  for  himself  as  a  prolific 
religious  writer ;  a  George  Weiss  who  has  for  years  de- 
voted himself  to  the  spiritual  interests  of  the  flock,  and  is 
their  chosen  pastor  to  watch  over  their  spiritual  welfare 
in  their  struggles  for  a  livelihood,  and  who  also  has 
won  fame  as  a  writer,  an  austere  and  fearless  man  of  God  ; 
a  Dr.  Melchior  Heebner,  past  65,  known  as  a  successful 
practitioner,  a  Restorationist,  a  hearty  admirer  of  the 
English  visionary,  Jane  Leade,  an  outspoken  enemy  of 
false  spirituality,  a  lover  of  music  and  poetry,  a  man  who 
strongly  opposed  the  mission  of  Hoffman  to  Vienna  as  a 
worship  of  the  beast  and  a  dependence  on  money  and  the 
aid  of  men ;  a  Christopher  Wiegner,  who  has  been 
writing  a  diary  of  his  spiritual  experiences  since  the  days 
of  his  childhood,  a  young  man  intimately  acquainted  with 
Spangenberg,  Zinzendorf  and  many  of  the  leading  men 
among  the  Moravians,  a  young  man  whose  father,  Adam 
Wiegner,  had  served  as  secretary  to  the  Schwenkfelders  in 
their  quest  for  a  place  of  refuge  and  who  had  pleaded 
so  strongly  with  the  Mennonites  to  try  to  dissuade  the 
Schwenkfelders  from  going  to  Pennsylvania ;  a  Christo- 
pher Schultz,  who  as  a  youth  of  sixteen  had  written  the 
glowing  account  of  their  voyage  just  ended,  who  had 
studied  his  Latin,  Greek  and  Hebrew  and  gave  promise  of 
an  illustrious  future.  In  passing  it  will  be  in  place  to  note 
that  the  immigration  by  Schwenkfelders  began  in  1731 
with  George  Schultz,  and  extended  to  1737. 

It  will  be  of  interest  to  watch  these  people  in  imagina- 
tion as  they  seek  to  found  homes  for  themselves.  George 
Schultz  and  his  two  sons  David  and  George  who  like 
Joshua  and  Caleb  had  spied  out  the  land,  gave  counsel 
and    advice.      Seemingly  the    father  had    acquired    land 


4©  The  Pennsylvania- German  Society. 

prior  to  this  in  Goshenhoppen  and  probably  knew  some 
of  the  residents  of  the  section.  The  son,  George,  after- 
wards known  as  "  George  Schultz  of  Philadelphia, 
Merchant,"  was  acquainted  with  the  city  and  its  ways. 
These  with  the  others  that  had  come  with  them  in  1733 
were  regarded  worthy  of  mention  by  the  tourist  V.  Beek, 
June  6,  1734,  when  among  the  different  sects  of  Pennsyl- 
vania he  mentioned  the  "  Schwenkfelders."  The  first 
thought  was  to  find  temporary  quarters  until  they  could 
look  around  for  permanent  homes.  David  Seipt  and 
family  seem  to  have  stayed  in  the  city  for  awhile ;  some 
rented  houses  in  Germantown  or  farther  north  ;  some  were 
hired  to  people  of  the  neighborhoods  as  they  passed  on  up 
towards  the  Goshenhoppen  valley  near  the  present  East 
Greenville.  George  Bonisch  relates  that  early  in  Novem- 
ber George  Schultz  asked  him  to  come  to  his  place  in 
Goshenhoppen  to  help  on  his  house  as  mason,  and  that  he 
went  there  and  worked  for  some  time.  Reverend  Bathasar 
Hoffman  served  as  his  Handlanger  (attendant).  During 
his  eight  weeks'  stay  he  attended  services  on  Sunday  con- 
ducted by  his  learned  helper  of  the  week.  Quite  a  number 
of  Schwenkfelders  must  therefore  have  been  in  Upper 
Hanover  by  November,  1734,  where  they  probably  lived 
as  hired  people  or  as  renters  in  houses  erected  by  others 
before  they  came. 

Having  found  shelter  and  means  of  support  for  the  first 
winter,  they  toiled  and  looked  around  for  places  to  estab- 
lish themselves  permanently.  They  had  planned  and 
labored  hard  —  Christopher  Wiegner  alone  travelling  hun- 
dreds of  miles — to  secure  a  large  tract  of  contiguous 
land  in  order  that  they  might  live  close  together,  but 
nowhere  could  they  find  a  suitable  place.  They  tried 
to  buy  the   Casper  Wistar  tract  of  over   1,000  acres  in 


Purchase  of  Land.  41 

Lower  Salford  but  found  that  it  would  not  suit  because  it 
was  already  occupied  in  part.  They  made  an  offer  of 
1,000  pistoles  for  2,000  acres  of  the  Perkasie  Manor  lying 
north  of  the  present  Chalfont  in  Bucks  County,  an  offer 
which  Logan  said  was  the  best  he  had  known  to  be  made 
for  land  since  he  knew  the  province.  Thomas  Penn  pro- 
posed to  sell  them  2,500  acres  of  the  said  manor  land,  but 
for  some  reason  no  sale  was  made.  Christopher  Wiegner 
relates  that  when  he  and  others  went  to  view  the  said  land 
the  residents  would  not  show  the  boundary  lines  and  con- 
ducted them  a  whole  day  over  poor  land.  On  inquiry, 
Wiegner  learned  that  this  was  done  because  the  people 
did  not  wish  them  to  settle  there.  They  also  tried  to  buy 
2,000  acres  in  '*Falckner  Schwam."  Large  unexplored 
and  unsettled  tracts  were  indeed  available  but  they  chose 
to  make  their  homes  in  the  inhabited  sections  and  thus  — 
unwittingly  —  avoided  the  extreme  hardships  of  the  frontier 
settlers  and  the  barbaric  cruelty  of  the  revengeful  Indian. 
Being  prevented  from  establishing  a  distinct  Schwenk- 
felder  community,  they  concluded  to  buy  wherever  the 
conditions  seemed  most  favorable.  According  to  Christo- 
pher Wiegner  they  reached  this  decision  March  21,  1735. 
A  few  of  these  purchases  will  be  noted.  In  March, 
Christopher  Kriebel,  Balzer  Yeakel,  father  of  George, 
Casper  and  George  Heydrich,  and  George  and  Balzer 
Hoffman,  severally  bought  lands  aggregating  over  500 
acres  situated  in  the  present  Lower  Salford  Township,  near 
the  Schwenkfelder  Meeting  House.  In  May,  the  brothers 
Melchior  and  Casper  Kriebel  bought  respectively  189  and 
130  acres  in  the  neighborhood  of  the  present  Towamencin 
Meeting  House.  A  little  later  Christopher  Wiegner  bought 
of  Cadwallader  Evans  150  acres  adjoining  the  Kriebel 
tracts  and  shortly  after  moved   there  with  his  sister  and 


42  The  Pennsylvania- German  Society. 

mother  to  establish  a  home  that  became  noted  in  its  day  as 
the  meeting  place  of  the  "  Associated  Brethren  of  the 
Shippack,"  of  which  more  will  be  said  later  on.  In  June, 
Balzer  Heydrich  bought  of  John  Jacob  Fauth  lOO  acres  in 
Falckner  Swamp,  now  known  as  Frederick  Township  in 
part,  not  far  from  Stetler's  store.  Doctor  Melchior  Heeb- 
ner  and  his  son  Hans  settled  close  by,  the  same  year.  In 
August,  George  Dresher  and  David  Seibt  bought  in  part- 
nership 134  acres  and  Christopher  Reinwald  59  acres  in 
Towamencin,  not  far  from  where  Wiegner  and  the  Kriebels 
had  settled.  The  three  Schultz  brothers,  Melchior,  George 
and  Christopher,  settled  in  Goshenhoppen  the  same  year, 
three  miles  away  from  their  uncle  George  Schultz,  Sr. 
Two  miles  farther  north  Melchior  Wiegner  and  David 
Meschter  located  themselves  on  100  acres,  and  where  Levi 
Krauss  now  lives  Balzer  Krauss  settled  on  the  Shoemaker 
tract  of  200  acres.  David  Heebner  went  into  Oley  and 
rented  a  farm,  to  return  later  and  buy  land  in  Falckner 
Swamp.  Abraham,  Balzer  and  Hans  Heinrich,  sons  of 
David  Yeakel  and  Gregorius  Schultz,  a  son-in-law,  wended 
their  way  past  the  sources  of  the  Perkiomen  over  the  hills 
into  the  Macungie  valley,  where  they  established  homes 
and  acquired  considerable  land.  A  500-acre  tract  belong- 
ing to  Casper  Wistar,  the  button  maker  of  Philadelphia, 
was  rented  by  them,  upon  which  they  placed  Hans  Hein- 
rich and  another  man  for  the  raising  of  horses.  Abraham 
Yeakel  and  Gregorius  Schultz  pushed  a  few  miles  far- 
ther into  the  woods  and  secured  land  that  was  afterwards 
sold  to  the  ancestor  of  the  Fogels  living  in  Fogelsville. 
While  these  Yeakel  boys  were  locating  in  Lehigh,  a 
brother  Casper  bought  land  in  Germantown,  with  the  idea 
of  erecting  a  house  and  serving  the  community  as  black- 
smith. 


Purchase  oj  Land.  43 

In  January,  1736,  George  Heebner  entered  into  part- 
nership with  Henry  Antes,  of  Frederick  Township.  This 
firm  purchased  28  acres  of  land  and  erected  a  mill  em- 
ploying two  sets  of  stone,  the  first  mill  of  the  community. 
This  mill  was  situated  where  the  dam  of  the  present  Grubb 
mill  is  located.  It  was  at  the  house  of  George  Heebner 
where  the  second  of  the  Zinzendorf  conferences  was  held 
a  few  3^ears  later. 

In  April  George  Schultz  obtained  a  grant  for  150  acres 
of  land  in  Goshenhoppen  west  of  the  present  East  Green- 
ville, which  was  transferred  to  the  three  Schultz  brothers, 
George,  Melchior  and  Christopher,  and  then,  or  possibly 
the  summer  before,  they  (according  to  tradition)  began  to 
build  the  first  two-story  house  between  the  Skippack  and  the 
Blue  Mountains. 

In  1737,  in  March,  Abraham  Beyer,  who  had  landed 
with  his  family  in  Philadelphia  the  previous  October,  bought 
94  acres  of  land  near  the  present  Worcester  Meeting 
House,  to  be  joined  later  by  Doctor  Abraham  Wagner  who, 
also  acquired  land  in  the  neighborhood. 

In  1738,  Dr.  Melchior  Heebner,  father  of  George,  died 
and  w^as  buried  in  Frederick  Township,  on  his  own  land, 
according  to  the  Genealogical  Record,  which  he  had  ac- 
quired some  time  previous.  Hans  Heebner,  a  son,  was  one 
of  the  neighbors  of  Dr.  Heebner  and  had  acquired  prior  to 
this  94  acres. 

In  1740,  Melchior  Wiegner  acquired  75  acres  of  land  in 
the  lower  part  of  Hereford  Township  and  Christopher 
Krauss  over  100  acres  in  the  Hosensack  valley  along  the 
creek  issuing  from  the  Powder  Valley.  In  1741  David 
Meschter  acquired  by  patent  100  acres  in  Hereford  Town- 
ship. In  1743,  Christopher  Yeakel  built  the  log  cabin  at 
the  foot  of  Chestnut  Hill  known  to  this  day  as  the  "  Yeakel 


44  l^he  Pennsylvania- German  Society. 

cottage."  In  1744  David  Seipt  bought  150  acres  of  John 
Benezet  in  the  neighborhood  where  Casper  Kriebel  had 
settled. 

In  1746,  conveyances  of  property  took  place,  by  which  the 
three  Schultz  brothers  dissolved  partnership.  George  re- 
mained at  the  old  homestead,  Melchior  established  himself 


Oe/rt/^fi.  ^^^7z>  ec^^^  /ci/e^,  i^rSt^rmfi^J 


qJ^  (^£ 


where  Horatio  K.  Schultz  now  lives  and  Christopher  moved 
to  where  a  descendant,  Jeremiah  K.  Schultz,  lives,  not 
far  from  the  Washington  Schwenkfelder  Meeting  House. 
In  1749  David  Schultz  bought  180  acres  in  Goshen- 
hoppen  located  near  East  Greenville.  It  was  on  this 
farm  that  Mrs.  Schultz  was  cruelly  murdered  in  June, 
1750.  We  present  herewith  a  fac-simile  of  the  entry  made 
by  Schultz  in  his  Almanac  diary  at  the  time  of  the  murder : 


Purchase  of  Land.  45 

In  1749  ^  patent  was  granted  to  Balthasar  Krauss  for 
part  of  the  Shoemaker  tract  near  the  present  Kraussdale 
Schwenkfelder  Meeting  House.  In  November,  175 1,  Mel- 
chior  Schultz  bought  332  acres  along  the  Perkiomen,  south 
of  Pennsburgdown  stream  from  the  Hillegass  mill  property. 
Later  in  the  same  year,  Christopher  Newman  bought  of 
David  Williams  225  acres  in  the  vicinity  of  the  present  West 
Point.  In  1754  Christopher  Wagner  bought  54  acres  in 
Worcester.  In  1757,  Balzer  Yeakel,  of  Macungie  bought 
of  Micheal  Schell  in  the  Hosensack  valley  120  acres.  In 
November  1761  Gregorius  Schultz  of  Macungie  bought  of 
Abraham  Yeakel  125  acres  in  Upper  Hanover,  and  in  De- 
cember Hans  Heinrich  Yeakel,  the  third  and  last  of  the 
Schwenkfelders  who  had  settled  beyond  the  present  Ma- 
cungie, bought  the  Hamilton  tract  of  500  acres  and  the  usual 
allowance,  the  garden  of  the  Hosensack  valley  which  he  later 
divided  and  sold  to  his  four  sons.  In  March,  1762,  Christ- 
opher Heebner  bought  of  Frederick  Cressman,  122  acres 
in  Norriton  Township  and  a  few  weeks  later  Christopher 
Dresher  bought  of  John  Roberts  129  acres  in  Towamencin. 
In  1765  George  Kriebel  bought  of  Samuel  Mechling  302 
acres  in  Lower  Milford,  then  Northampton  County,  near 
the  present  so-called  Kraussdale.  Later  in  the  year, 
David  Heebner  sold  his  200  acres  in  Frederick  Township 
and  moved  to  Worcester.  A  few  years  later  George 
Heebner,  of  Frederick  Township,  sold  his  farms  of  over  175 
acres  to  Reverend  John  Philip  Leidich  and  moved  to 
Chestnut  Hill.  These  are  some  of  the  land  transactions 
and  will  afford  a  view  of  the  acquisition  of  real  estate. 

Through  the  Heintze  correspondence,  of  which  more 
will  be  said  later,  a  request  was  made  that  the  Schwenk- 
felders should  let  the  friends  in  Germany  know  how  and 
where  they  dwelt.     In  compliance  with  this  request,  sur- 


46 


The  Pennsylvania-  German  Society. 


Early  Settlers.  ^y 

veyor  David  Schultze  made  a  map  of  the  places  of  residence 
which  was  sent  with  explanatory  matter  to  Germany,  June, 
1767.  When  Ober-Lehrer  Friedrich  Schneider  a  century 
later  was  pursuing  his  studies  in  Schwenkfeld  history  he 
discovered  this  map  and  explanatory  matter  in  the  library 
of  Pastor  Nitschke  of  Harpersdorf.  He  made  a  copy 
which  in  due  time  came  into  the  hands  of  the  Berlin 
Library.  A  tracing  of  this  copy  was  made  under  the 
direction  of  Dr.  Hartranft,  editor  of  the  Corpus  Schwcnk- 
feldianoriim.  A  copy  of  said  tracing  is  given  herewith. 
The  numbers  on  the  map  were  explained  in  the  letter 
that  accompanied  the  map.  The  list  is  herewith  reproduced 
in  the  spelling  as  given  in  the  Hartranft  copy  on  the  left 
hand  side  and  on  the  right  hand  side  the  places  are  identi- 
fied by  reference  to  present  owners  or  tenants. 

Berks  County^  Hereford: 

1.  Melchior  Schulz.  Horatio  K.  Schultz. 

2.  David  Meschter.  Leon  Fetterman. 

3.  George  Wiegner.  Solomon  Schmoyer. 

Melchior      Wiegners 
Sohn. 

4.  Barbara  Jackelinn  Joseph  Yeakel. 

5.  Christian    (?)     Schulz.     Jeremiah  K.  Schultz. 

6.  Gregorius  Meschter.         Not  identified. 

Nordhamton  County^  Milford  Township: 

7.  Balthasar  Jackel,  Sohn.     Benjamin  Weiss. 

8.  Hans  Jiickel,  Vater.  Daniel  Yeakel. 

9.  George   Jackel,    Sohn.     Nathaniel  Hiestand. 

10.  Jeremias  Jackel,  Sohn.  Nathan  Schultz. 

11.  Balthasar  Kraus.  Levi  Krauss. 

12.  George  Kriebel.  Abraham  Brey. 
Casper  Kriebels  Sohn. 


48 


The  Pennsylvania- German  Society. 


Folgende  sind  alle  Einwohner  von  Philadelphia  county 
in  Coschehoppe  oder  Oberhannover  (translation) :  The  fol- 
lowing are  all  residents  of  Philadelphia  county  in  Goshen- 
hoppen  or  Upper  Hanover. 


13.  Georg    Schulz,    senior. 

14.  Georg    Schultz,    senior 

alt. 

15.  Gregor  Schulz. 

16.  Christoph  Krause. 

17.  George  Wiegner. 

18.  Christoph  Jackel. 

19.  David  Schulz. 

20.  Seines  Bruder. 
Melchiors  Wittwe. 

21.  George  Hiibner. 


E.  H.  Schultz,  Palm. 

Abraham  Schultz. 
Rufus  Shuler. 
John  C.  Hancock  Ice  Co. 
Late  Daniel  Althouse. 
Henry  R.  Seibert. 
Henry  D.  Snyder. 
John  Gerhard. 

Near  Stetler's  Store. 


(Soweit  dererste  Bezirk.) 
In  Schippach  und   Umgegend  vvohnen  ;     (translation) : 
Thus  far  the  first  district ;  in   Skippack  and  vicinity  there 
dwell : 


1.  Christoph  Kriebel. 

2.  George  Kriebel. 
George  Heidrich. 
Christoph  Hoffmann. 
Christoph  Wiegner. 

6.  Balthasar  Jackel. 

7.  Hans  Jackel. 

8.  Abraham  Heidrich. 
Christoph  Drescher. 
Christoph  Reinwald. 
George  Anders. 
Abraham  Kriebel  (sein 

Vater  Casper). 
13.  Abraham   Wiegner. 


9- 
10. 

II. 

12. 


David  M.  Cassel. 
Elias  Landis. 
John  Halteman. 
Henry  Derstine  Estate. 
Isaac  K.  Kriebel. 
Not  identified. 
Peter  Lewis. 
Not  identified. 
Israel  Heckler. 
Not  identified. 
Allen  K.  Kriebel. 
Abraham  Kriebel. 

Not  identified. 


U^f^Jktf.^     k«'K^ 


Early  Settlers. 


49 


14. 

15- 
16. 

17- 

18. 

19. 


24. 

25- 

26. 


27 


Melchior  Moschter.  Not  identified. 

Casper  Seibt.  Sam  Metz. 

Hans  Christoph  Hiibner.    William  Freed. 


Christoph  Wagner. 
David  Hiibner. 

Andreas  Beer. 


20.  Abraham  Anders,  weil- 

and  Abrah.  Wagner. 

21.  Christoph  Hiibner. 

22.  Abraham  Jackel. 

23.  Melchior  Kriebel. 


H.  H.  Heebner. 

Near  Worcester  (Schwenk- 

felder  meeting  house). 
Late  Michael  Grater,  now 

Ellwood  Anders. 
Ellwood  Anders. 

Wayne  Heebner. 

Near  Worcester  (Schwenk- 

felder  meeting  house). 
Abraham  H.  Kriebel,  "  Rit- 

tenhouse  farm." 
Not  identified. 
Jacob  Heebner  (?). 


Ed  Wahn. 


Late  Benjamin  Wilson. 


David  Kriebel  der  Sohn. 
David    Neumann    sein 

Valer  Christoph. 
Heinrich  Schneider 

(Tochtermann        des 
Neumann). 
Melchior  Wagner  (von 
Armenruh). 
Christopher  Schubert  dwelt  in  Germantown  and  Chris- 
topher Yeakel  and  David  Schubert  at  Chestnut  Hill. 

It  would  be  interesting  to  trace  the  conveyances  of  land 
more  in  detail  but  space  will  not  permit.  In  many  cases 
the  properties  were  transmitted  from  father  to  son  or  son- 
in-law  ;  in  some  cases  the  larger  tracts  were  subdivided  to 
afford  means  of  subsistence  to  the  different  members  of  the 
family ;  adjoining  farms  were  occasionally  acquired  or 
new  settlements  started  more  or  less  removed  from  the 
original  centers.     In  very  few  cases  did  the  homes  pass 

4 


50  The  Pennsylvania- German  Society. 

into  the  hands  of  others  through  the  financial  failure  or 
embarrassment  of  the  owners.  In  a  considerable  number 
of  cases  the  properties  have  remained  in  the  hands  of  the 
freimdschafft  that  originally  acquired  them  to  the  pres- 
ent day.  In  each  district  in  which  they  settled  they  found 
resident  and  non-resident  land-holders  who  were  holding 
the  property  to  profit  by  the  rise  in  values.  The  fact  must 
not  be  overlooked  that  not  all  the  Schwenkfelders  were 
land-holders,  that  some  were  renters,  or  day-laborers  or 
followed  some  particular  trade. 

The  toil,  trial  and  triumph  of  the  early  times  form  an 
interesting  study  to  which  scarcely  more  than  a  reference 
may  be  made.  Isaac  Schultz  says  in  substance:  "All 
the  people  trusted  in  the  care  and  protection  of  the 
Highest  as  they  located  themselves  and  felt  that  in  plod- 
ding for  their  daily  bread  in  the  sweat  of  their  brows  they 
would  receive  from  Him  the  needed  strength,  wisdom  and 
courage.  They  began  at  the  lowest  round  of  the  ladder,  to 
clear  the  land  and  render  it  tillable,  and  huts  and  houses 
were  put  up  where  there  were  none.  Each  by  his  own 
industry  gave  evidence  of  a  hope  of  better  times  and  better 
conditions  in  life.  There  was  scarcely  any  relief  from  the 
toil ;  the  burden  and  heat  of  many  a  day  had  to  be  borne. 
The  bushes  and  wild  undergrowth  were  cut,  grubbed  and 
uprooted.  The  women  helped  to  gather  and  burn  the 
underbrush,  to  clear  a  patch  for  gardening  or  for  raising 
flax.  Plows,  even  the  primitive  plows  with  wooden  mould- 
boards  were  scarcely  known,  the  grubbing-hoe  being  used 
instead.  As  harrows,  bundles  of  branches  were  dragged 
over  the  virgin  soil  but  slightly  disturbed  by  the  plying  of 
the  hoe.  The  uncovered  seed  was  devoured  by  wild  doves 
and  turkeys  in  which  the  forests  abounded.  The  growing 
grain  was  relished  by  the  deer  which  often  gave  their  lives 


The  Founding  of  a  Home.  51 

as  a  sacrifice  for  their  boldness  in  making  free  use  of  the 
settlers'  crops,  and  thus  became  food  and  raiment  for  the 
white  man."  The  women  knew  how  to  spin  and  they  did 
spin.  At  first  the  spinning  was  not  done  with  the  familiar 
spinning  wheel  with  treadle  and  distaff,  but  with  a  simple 
piece  of  wood  that  might  easily  be  mistaken  by  the  un- 
informed for  a  modern  penholder  ornamented  with  a  ring 
near  the  one  end.  For  the  first  few  years  they  had  no 
wool  to  spin  because  they  could  not  properly  care  for  the 
sheep.  As  soon  as  possible,  however,  sheep,  horses  and 
cattle  were  secured,  bells  were  hung  around  their  necks 
and  they  were  turned  loose  and  left  to  care  for  themselves 
in  the  primeval  forest.  Tradition  says  that  before  Abra- 
ham Moyer  erected  his  mill  on  the  Perkiomen  where  Lei- 
bert's  mill  now  is  below  Palm,  the  people  often  ground  their 
grain  to  meal  by  crushing  it  on  stones  or  stumps  of  trees  and 
removing  the  coarser  and  foreign  elements  by  the  use  of 
sieves.  Orchards  were  planted  and  distilleries  were  erected 
to  change  the  luscious  apple  into  the  mischievous  applejack. 

The  three  Schultz  brothers  erected  the  first  two-story 
dwelling  house  in  the  settlement.  Melchior  Neuman 
was  the  carpenter.  Because  they  had  no  saw-mill,  they 
were  obliged  to  saw  logs  into  boards  by  hand.  They 
rolled  the  logs  on  a  frame  and  thus  devised  a  rude  saw- 
mill of  their  own,  human  muscle  above  and  below  the  log 
furnishing  the  motive  power.  Christopher  Krauss  also 
joined  them  about  this  time.  They  toiled  at  the  loom 
as  weavers  and  won  fame  by  their  fine  linen.  They 
manufactured  looms,  various  household  articles,  wagon- 
wheels  out  of  three-inch  planks,  horse  collars  out  of  plaited 
straw  and  traces  for  the  harness  out  of  hemp. 

They  tilled  the  ground.  The  crops  which  they  did  not 
need  together  with  their  finest   grades  of  linen,  some  of 


52  The  Pennsylvania-German  Society. 

which  they  sold  to  the  governor  of  the  Province  at  eight 
shillings  per  yard,  were  taken  to  market. 

Balzer  Anders  of  Towamencin  and  George  Heydrich  of 
Salford  and  David  Meschter  of  Hereford  made  and  re- 
paired shoes.  Christopher  Yeakel  and  David  Schubert 
were  coopers  and  plied  their  craft  at  Chestnut  Hill.  Abra- 
ham Yeakel  of  Worcester,  and  Christopher  Reinwald  of 
Towamencin  were  known  as  weavers  and  David  Rein- 
wald, the  son  of  Christopher,  living  in  Douglass  as  turner. 
George  Weiss  was  a  weaver  and  for  a  time  kept  three  looms 
going  and  was  financially  successful,  often  being  called 
upon  to  weave  for  others  on  account  of  the  good  quality  of 
the  product  of  his  looms.  He  was  an  honest  man  and  made 
honest  linen.  Balzer  Hoffman  made  his  spinning  wheel 
hum  practically  to  the  end  of  his  eventful  life.  David 
Schultz,  the  surveyor,  served  his  day  and  generation  as 
surveyor  and  general  scrivener,  and  as  such  was  known 
favorably  far  and  wide.  Christopher  Schultz,  of  Here- 
ford, George  Kriebel,  of  Lower  Milford,  and  Melchior 
Wagner,  of  Worcester,  also  served  their  neighborhoods  as 
scriveners.  David  Wagener  made  his  way  into  North- 
hampton County  and  established  himself  along  the  Bush- 
kill,  where  he  grew  to  be  a  man  of  means  and  became  the 
progenitor  of  numerous  descendants  in  Easton  and  else- 
where. 

The  Schwenkfelders  occasionally  became  non-resident 
land-holders  to  invest  their  savings  and  thus  to  profit  by 
the  prospective  rise  in  values.  In  case  of  sickness,  house- 
hold remedies  were  resorted  to  and  the  industrious  house- 
wife brought  into  requisition  the  copious  collection  of  rem- 
edies in  her  well-filled  bag  of  medicinal  herbs.  Should 
professional  services  be  needed,  their  faithful  friends.  Dr. 
George  DeBenneville,  the  Universalist,  of    Oley,  later  of 


A  Reniarhahle  Slate  Pa^er.  53 

Bristol,  and  Dr.  Abraham  Wagner,  of  Worcester,  were 
called  upon.  Accidents  and  misfortunes,  pain,  sickness- 
and  death  that  are  wont  to  befall  man  were  their  lot  as 
well,  but  of  these  there  is  no  occasion  for  speaking.  They 
toiled  and  triumphed  in  their  toil.  Many  a  father  of  a 
family  could  say  with  Jacob  of  old:  "  I  am  not  worthy 
of  the  least  of  thy  mercies,  and  of  all  thy  truth  which 
thou  hast  showed  unto  thy  servant ;  for  with  my  staff  I 
passed  over  this  Jordan  and  now  I  am  become  two  bands. '^ 

They  had  trusted  their  divine  Saviour,  and  in  obedience 
to  His  sweet  will,  left  their  all  for  righteousness'  sake  and 
their  Lord  rewarded  them  openly  in  this  present  life.  They 
had  a  practical  realization  of  the  words  of  the  master : 
*' Every  one  that  hath  forsaken  houses  or  brethren,  or 
sisters,  or  father,  or  mother,  or  wife,  or  children,  or  lands, 
for  my  name's  sake  shall  receive  a  hundred-fold." 

Thus  they  toiled,  and  in  the  sweat  of  their  brow  be- 
came co-workers  with  God  in  His  answering  their  prayer : 
"  Give  us  this  day  our  daily  bread."  In  the  midst  of  their 
struggles,  probably  some  time  during  1742,  the  following 
remarkable  state-paper  was  brought  to  their  attention,  but 
though  they  were  thus  highly  flattered  and  honored  by 
Frederick  the  Great,  they  merely  acknowledged  the  invi- 
tation with  thanks  and  to  a  man  clung  to  their  newly 
adopted  country  that  they  had  come  to  love  so  well. 

"  Edict  to  provide  for  the  reestablishment  of  the  so-called 
Schwenkfelders  in  Silesia  and  other  provinces  of  his  Royal 
Majesty;  de  dato  Selowitz  the  8  of  March,  1742. 

"  We,  Frederick,  by  the  grace  of  God,  King  of  Prussia, 
Margrave  of  Brandenburg,  Arch  Chamberlain,  and  elec- 
tor of  the  Holy  Roman  Empire,  etc.,  etc. 

*'  Be  it  known  to  all  to  whom  these  presents  may  come; 
Whereas,  we  do  hold  nothing  to  be  so  contrary  to  Nature, 


54  T^^^  Pennsylvania- German  Society. 

Reason  and  Principles  of  the  Christian  Religion  as  the 
forcing  of  the  subjects'  consciences  and  persecuting  them 
about  any  erroneous  doctrines  which  do  not  concern  the 
fundamental  principles  of  the  Christian  Religion.  We 
have,  therefore,  most  graciously  resolved  that  the  so-called 
Schwenkfelders,  who  were  exiled  through  an  imprudent 
zeal  for  Religion,  to  the  irreparable  damage  of  commerce 
and  of  the  country  be  recalled  into  our  Sovereign  Duchy 
of  Lower  Silesia.  We  have,  therefore,  thought  fit  by  these 
presents  to  assure  all  those  who  possess  the  said  doctrine, 
upon  our  Royal  word  that  they  shall  and  may  return 
safely  not  only  into  our  Sovereign  Duchy  of  Lower  Sile- 
sia, but  also  into  all  our  provinces,  peaceably  to  live  and 
trade  there,  since  we  not  only  do  receive  them  into  our 
special  protection,  but  also  will  give  them  all  necessary 
supplies  for  the  promotion  of  their  commerce.  And  all 
those  who  several  years  ago  were  deprived  of  their  habita- 
tions and  estates  in  our  country  of  Silesia,  shall  be  rein- 
stated without  any  conpensation  in  case  those  estates  are 
not  paid  for  by  the  new  possessors.  Such  as  will  settle  in 
our  villages  shall  have  farms  assigned  to  them,  and  care 
shall  be  taken  to  provide  them  employment  and  those  who 
choose  to  live  in  towns  shall,  besides  several  ordinary 
Free  years,  have  places  assigned  them  gratis  for  the 
building  of  their  houses  for  which  purposes  they  need  only 
apply  to  our  Military  and  Domainen  Chambers. 

"We  do  therefore  command  our  Superior  Colleges  of 
Justice  and  Finance,  as  well  as  all  mediate  Princes,  Lords, 
Magistrates,  etc.,  carefully  to  observe  the  same. 

"  In  witness  whereof  we  have  signed  this  present  edict 
with  our  own  hand,  and  caused  our  royal  seal  to  be  affixed. 

*'  Done  at  Selowitz,  March  8th,  1742. 
*<  L.  S.  V  Cocceji.  "Frederick, 

"  per  C.  von  Munchon." 


CHAPTER   V. 

Efforts  at  Church  Organization,  1734-1782. 

N  attempting  to  form  a  conception  of  the 
religious  life  among  the  Schwenkfelders 
prior  to  the  organization  of  1782,  the 
people,  their  leaders,  their  places  of  resi- 
dence and  the  general  religious  surround- 
ings must  be  taken  into  account. 

The  situation  of  the  people  themselves, 
considered  with  respect  to  organized  re- 
ligious life,  was  pitiable.  They  had 
been  robbed  of  house  and  home,  hence  were  poor  and  a 
fierce  struggle  for  daily  food  and  raiment  with  consequent 
tendency  to  worldliness  followed ;  they  had  been  deprived 
of  Christian  fellowship,  hence  they  could  not  look  to  the 
old  world  for  aid  as  others  could  and  would.  Prior  to 
1734  they  had  been  deprived  of  religious  liberty,  hence 
they  had  not  profited  by  the  benefits  of  a  religious  organi- 
zation. They  were  accorded  no  standing  by  the  dominant 
religious  forces,  hence  they  probably  often  felt  as  Dr. 
Abraham  Wagner  expressed  himself  to  Reverend  Muhlen- 
berg :  "It  would  be  no  wonder  if  you  felt  an  aversion 
from  me  since  I  bear  or  must  bear  a  despised,  heretical 

(55) 


56  The  Pennsylvania-German  Society. 

name."  Reverend  Balzer  Hoffman  wrote:  "When  they 
landed  there  was  great  disorder  respecting  homes  and 
means  of  winning  a  livelihood.  The  people  lost  concern 
for  the  faith  for  which  they  had  suffered  and  lapsed  into 
lukewarmness  and  worldliness.  The  whole  week  was 
spent  in  a  struggle  for  a  living.  Sunday  meant  laziness, 
inactivity  and  a  light-hearted  state  of  mind."  During  the 
first  winter,  the  minds  of  all  must  have  been  in  a  state  of 
suspense  on  account  of  their  future  homes  and  this  also 
probably  augmented  the  spiritual  unrest.  After  homes  had 
been  acquired  and  means  of  subsistence  found,  the  charge 
of  their  pastor  George  Weiss  extended  from  Germantown, 
possibly  Philadelphia  through  Gwynedd,  Towamencin, 
Lower  Salford,  Upper  Hanover,  Hereford,  Upper  Milford 
to  Macungie  in  Lehigh  County  with  spurs  at  Falckner 
Swamp  —  now  Frederick  —  and  at  Worcester. 

George  Weiss  was  a  remarkable  man.^  At  the  age  of 
thirty-three  he  was  chosen  to  write  the  Confession  of  Faith 
of  the  Schwenkfelders  and  to  answer  the  questions  of  the 
Jesuit  missionaries.  In  1733  he  was  called  upon  to  take 
charge  of  the  religious  training  of  the  young,  probably 
after  notice  had  been  served  that  in  a  year's  time  migration 
would  be  enforced.  In  April,  1734,  he  wrote  his  Kurtzes 
Gutachten  in  which  he  discussed  the  history  of  the 
Schwenkfelders  and  the  forming  of  a  religious  organiza- 
tion or  Gemeinde.  He  also  drew  up  stringent  regulations 
for  the  intending  emigrants  concerning  Sunday  observance, 
holidays,  marriage,  the  sacraments,  prayer  for  children, 
conduct  of  the  daily  life,  etc.,  etc.  He  was  a  practical 
apostle  of  the  strenuous  life,  as  is  shown,  for  example,  by 
having  pangs  of  conscience  at  his  own  worldliness  in 
operating  three  weaver's  looms  at  one  time.     The  worldli- 


^  The  term  "  Reverend  '-  is  omitted  in  conformity  with  early  custom. 


Tiit:    FENNSYLVANIA-CERHA/N    SOCIETY. 


SPINNING    WITH    THE    SPINDLE. 


Religious  Conditions.  57 

ness  of  the  people  so  vexed  his  righteous  soul  that  his 
heart  poured  itself  out  in  tears.  He  strove,  as  he  said,  to 
so  live  that  no  one  could  take  offence  at  any  word  or  work  of 
his.  His  conduct,  bearing  and  general  aspect  were  unusu- 
ally plain  and  simple.  His  whole  being  was  charged  with  a 
holy  zeal  for  true  righteousness  which  he  as  a  minister  mani- 
fested without  abatement  unto  the  time  of  his  death  in  1740. 

The  general  religious  condition  of  the  community  is  thus 
described  by  Muhlenberg  in  a  letter  of  the  period  :  "  Athe- 
ists, Deists  and  Naturalists  are  to  be  found  everywhere  ;  in 
short,  there  is  no  sect  in  the  world  which  has  not  followers 
here.  You  meet  with  persons  from  almost  every  nation  in 
the  world.  The  young  people  have  grown  up  without  in- 
struction and  without  knowledge  of  religion  and  are  turn- 
ing into  heathenism." 

Beside  this  general  inclination  to  a  low  religious  life  in  the 
community  which  tended  to  counteract  the  labors  of  Weiss, 
there  were  divergent  tendencies  among  the  Schwenkfelders 
themselves.  Dr.  Abraham  Wagner,  of  Worcester,  wanted 
to  read  and  did  read  non-Schwenkfelder  books  and  prob- 
ably affected  the  Beyers  living  close  by  and  related.  Dr. 
Melchior  Hiibner  living  in  Frederick,  was  an  adherent  of 
the  views  of  Jacob  Boehme,  and  probably  influenced  those 
with  whom  he  came  into  contact.  In  Goshenhoppen,  Mel- 
chior and  David  and  their  father,  George  Schultz,  and 
Melchior  Wiegner  read  Jacob  Boehme  and  Jane  Leade. 
Christopher  Wiegner,  of  Towamencin,  also  an  admirer  of 
Boehme,  harbored  the  envoys  of  the  Moravians,  and  in 
particular  Spangenberg.  The  "Associated  Brethren  of 
theSkippack"  met  at  his  house  and  vexed  the  souls  of 
earnest  Schwenkfelders. 

Surrounded  thus  and  hampered  by  adverse  circum- 
stances,   George    Weiss,    recognized    as    pastor,  went   to 


58  The  Pennsylvania- German  Society. 

work,  but  he  soon  learned  that  the  people  could  not  and 
would  not  devote  as  much  time  to  his  ministrations  as  he 
desired,  and  in  consequence  experienced  during  1735  bitter 
grief,  dejection  and  discouragement.  He  visited  various 
families  during  the  summer,  staying  several  weeks  at  one 
place,  teaching  the  children  and  exercising  them  in  cate- 
chetical questions.  Some  expository  letters  were  written, 
but  there  were  practically  no  public  religious  services  and 
altogether  there  was  not  much  activity.  Soon  after  this 
Wiegner  wrote:  "My  heart  is  often  so  filled  with  pain 
and  sorrow  in  the  meetings  of  the  Schwenkfelders  at  their 
poor  souls,  that  I  cannot  suppress  my  tears,  though  I  speak 
not  a  word  the  whole  time."  Of  Weiss  he  wrote  :  "  Since 
we  are  in  this  country  he  shows  such  zeal  and  earnestness 
that  one  scarcely  recognizes  the  earlier  Weiss  in  him." 

The  contemplated  marriage  of  two  Schwenkfelders  — 
presumably  Balthasar  Krauss  and  Susanna  Hoffman  — 
raised  the  question  of  organization.  The  groom  came  to 
Weiss  and  expressed  the  wish  to  have  the  ceremony  per- 
formed by  one  of  their  own  number.  The  wish  was  taken 
into  consideration  and  as  a  consequence  a  letter  was  written 
in  November,  1735,  in  which  it  was  suggested  to  select  a 
minister  ( Vorsteher)  and  two  deacons  [Aeltesten).  On 
November  9,  nine  Schwenkfelders  met  and  elected  George 
Weiss  as  minister  and  B.  H.  and  D.  S.  as  deacons  (Balzer 
Hoffman  and  David  Seibt,  in  all  probability),  to  whom 
they  promised  allegiance.  A  contract  or  agreement  was 
drawn  up  and  signed  by  the  minister,  the  deacons  and  the 
people.  This  was  done  not  as  an  act  of  union  as  a  church, 
but  as  a  means  of  knowing  on  whom  the  minister  might 
depend. 

Upon  this  Weiss  assumed  charge  of  the  religious  ser- 
vices and  went  faithfully  and  earnestly  to  work.     Trouble 


Idolatry  and  Calf  Worship.  59 

soon  beset  him,  however.  Christopher  Wiegner  relates 
that  in  January,  1736,  Weiss  called  upon  him  and  that  an 
earnest  discussion  arose  concerning  a  letter  which  Wiegner 
had  written.  On  parting  Wiegner  finally  promised  to  at- 
tend the  services  again.  On  the  following  fourth  of  April 
Spangenberg  arrived  at  Wiegner's  home,  and  thus  added 
another  factor  to  the  religious  problem.  About  June  twen- 
tieth Wiegner  made  record  in  his  diary  that  Weiss  spoke  to 
them  and  charged  them  to  let  the  Schwenkfelders  alone, 
saying  that  they  could  and  would  not  agree,  and  that  it 
would  be  useless  to  try  to  make  Moravians  of  them. 

Without  entering  into  further  details  it  may  be  in  place 
to  quote  the  following  words  extracted  from  a  general 
letter  by  Weiss,  dated  December  15,  1737  :  '*  After  having 
tried  for  a  considerable  time  the  existing  plan,  *  *  *  I  am 
compelled  in  protection  of  my  own  conscience  to  avail  my- 
self of  another  method  to  prevent  if  possible  with  respect 
to  myself  a  Gideonitish  idolatry  or  a  Jereoboamitish  calf- 
worship.  If  you  desire  to  use  it  for  such  purpose,  I  hope 
before  God  to  be  excused.  My  service  concerning  which 
I  have  a  good  conscience  before  God,  is  clearly  enough 
expressed  in  the  conditions  of  our  contract  or  agreement 
and  consists  of  this  —  to  reveal  again  and  bring  to  light 
according  to  my  power  our  neglected  theology.  Formal 
worship  is  not  a  part  of  this  neither  is  it  a  part  of  formal 
worship.  For  regular  worship  and  a  regular  congregation 
belong  together.  Regular  worship  has  indeed  been  estab- 
lished, meetings  have  been  held,  now  in  this  place  and 
now  in  that  and,  though  one  guard  against  it  the  best  way 
possible,  one  can  not  prevent  the  growing  out  of  it  of  an 
established  order  and  custom.  And  it  might  easily  happen 
that  at  my  death  some  fickle  person  with  a  little  worldly 
wisdom  without  savor  or  strength  might  allow  himself  to 


6o  The  Pennsylvania- German  Society. 

be  used  to  step  into  such  place  and  in  appearance  to  imitate 
the  same.  I,  therefore,  recall  such  ordinary  regular  service 
in  my  simplicity  and  will  on  my  own  account  hold  services, 
public  and  free  to  all.  And  thus  I  hope  to  place  matters 
upon  such  a  footing  that  when  I  die  the  plan  may  die  with 
me."  Weiss  continued  his  labors,  however,  and  another 
disturbance  was  soon  created  by  Wiegner  and  Spangen- 
berg  of  which  more  will  be  said  in  a  subsequent  chapter. 

The  Schwenkfelders  did  not  stand  by  Weiss  as  they 
could  and  should  have.  On  account  of  this  non-respon- 
siveness, Weiss  for  a  time  ceased  going  to  Macungie  and 
still  later  to  Goshenhoppen  to  conduct  services.  Sickness 
came  upon  him  and  he  was  so  depressed  in  spirit  that  he 
entertained  the  thought  of  giving  up  his  public  services  al- 
together. The  contract  renewed  in  1737  seemed  to  influ- 
ence him,  however,  and  he  resolved  to  continue  and  thus 
to  set  an  example  to  his  flock.  Later  he  conducted  services 
at  the  house  where  he  was  staying  and  worshippers  had  to 
go  there.  The  result  was  that  many  stayed  away  and 
lukewarmness  grew.  His  feeling  towards  the  people  is 
probably  fairly  represented  in  these  words,  written  by  him 
in  September,  1738:  "The  jealous  spirits,  the  ignoble 
thoughts,  the  derogatory  remarks,  the  secret  envy  and  the 
idiosyncrasies  both  towards  me  as  well  as  towards  each 
other  prove  quite  plainly  that  nothing  is  wanting  more  in 
you  than  the  properties  of  a  church  "  or  organized  body  of 
believers. 

The  laxity  of  the  people  grew ;  his  zeal  grew  likewise 
and  toil  followed  in  both  districts  as  though  matters  had 
reached  a  final  issue  even  while  a  weakness  of  body  and 
constitution  hampered  him.  Finally  a  serious  sickness  be- 
fell him  that  confined  him  to  his  bed.  Full  of  hope  that 
he  would  be  enabled  to  resume  his  efforts  for  the  young, 


Death  of  Rev.   Weiss.  6i 

the  unexpected  summons  came  to  him  a  week  after  he  had 
met  his  dear  children  in  the  faith  for  the  last  time  in 
Goshenhoppen  and  he  was  called  to  his  reward  on  the 
eleventh  of  March,  1740. 

The  death  of  Weiss  left  the  Schwenkfelders  disunited 
and  unorganized  for  religious  services.  His  labors  had 
not  met  the  success  that  he  deserved  and  the  people  had 
not  reached  the  high  ideal  he  had  placed  for  them.  A 
glance  at  what  he  tried  to  accomplish  must  suffice.  He 
wished  to  secure  a  sacred  observance  of  Sunday  and  the 
ordained  holy  days  by  strict  cessation  from  work  and  oc- 
cupation of  the  day  by  reading  and  meditation  or  attend- 
ance on  public  worship.  The  married  state  was  to  be  en- 
tered upon  in  the  fear  of  the  Lord  and  all  worldliness  and 
sinful  propensities  were  to  be  religiously  repressed.  Chil- 
dren were  to  be  consecrated  to  the  Lord  and  His  service. 
In  worldly  avocations  men  were  to  follow  Paul's  advice, 
having  food  and  raiment  —  therewith  to  be  content.  His 
aim  as  to  religious  services  is  thus  described  by  Hoffman : 
*'  To  have  religious  services  on  Sundays  both  forenoon  and 
afternoon  with  a  kind  of  preparatory  service  on  Saturday 
evening,  at  which  hymns  were  sung  and  religious  exhor- 
tations and  explanations  of  scripture  passages  were  given. 
During  the  winter  meetings  were  also  held  on  Sunday 
evening  at  which  the  children  were  catechized  and  in- 
structed. On  Sundays  for  the  regular  services  a  sermon 
was  read,  followed  by  religious  comments  both  in  the  fore- 
noon and  the  afternoon.  The  three  most  important  sacred 
days  of  the  church  year  were  observed  three  days,  at 
which  special  services  were  held.  Once  a  week  a  meet- 
ing was  held  in  order  that  the  hearts  of  the  people  might 
be  drawn  away  from  temporal  things.  The  children 
were  catechized  at  least  two  times  each  week  and  often 


62  The  Pennsylvania- German  Society. 

three  times,  in  order  that  with  their  daily  toil  they  might 
be  grounded  in  the  principles  of  their  doctrines.  Balzer 
Hoffman  was  appointed  as  his  assistant  in  order  that  when 
he  was  away  in  Macungie,  Goshenhoppen  or  elsewhere 
services  might  not  be  discontinued.  The  yearly  gathering 
for  thanksgiving,  the  '  Geddchtniss  Tag''  or  Memorial 
Day  was  sacredly  observed.  When  the  young  wished  to 
marry  they  were  instructed  previously  in  Christian  doc- 
trine—  particularly  as  to  holy  matrimony.  At  funerals 
religious  services  were  also  held,  and  soon  after  birth  the 
young  were  consecrated  to  the  Lord." 

Upon  the  death  of  Weiss  it  seemed  for  a  time  as  if  re- 
ligious services  would  not  be  resumed.  An  arrangement 
was  devised  that,  however,  was  destined  to  be  short-lived. 
Four  heads  of  families  {Haus-vdter)  met  and  agreed  to 
hold  services  in  their  houses  in  the  hope  that  the  same 
might  be  introductory  to  some  better  plan.  Balzer  Hoff- 
man by  request  took  charge  of  the  services  and  tried  to 
follow  the  plans  of  Weiss  as  closely  as  possible.  Dissen- 
sion and  discord  soon  became  manifest  again.  Discour- 
agement followed  and  Hoffman  resigned.  May,  1741. 
The  general  condition  of  things  is  shown  by  the  fact  that 
children  did  not  receive  half  the  attention  they  had  re- 
ceived during  the  lifetime  of  Weiss.  Hoffman  was  ap- 
pealed to.  He  was  touched  and  expressed  himself  in  two 
letters  dated  July  9,  1741,  in  which  he  laid  down  thirty-six 
propositions  to  which  assent  was  given  with  the  result  that 
an  organization  was  formed  again  and  deacons  were 
chosen.  Hoffman  again  resigned  at  the  close  of  the 
church  year  1744,  ^^^  ^^^  persuaded  to  resume  charge 
soon  after.  These  two  resignations  were  due  to  want  of 
harmony  between  him  and  the  Schwenkfelders  in  respect 
to  doctrine,  the  daily  life  and  views  about  their  meetings. 


Balzcr  Ho f man.  63 

In  1749  Hoffman  resigned  for  the  third  time  on  account  of 
health,  a  bodily  affection  making  speaking  and  singing 
almost  impossible. 

During  his  ministration  Hoffman  had  charge  of  the  reg- 
ular Sunday  services,  funerals  and  the  exercises  on  Me- 
morial Day.  At  the  marriages  he  was  occasionally  asked 
to  officiate  ;  at  other  times  a  neighboring  minister  or  an  of- 
ficer of  the  law  was  called  upon.  The  children  were  trained 
in  doctrines  but  not  as  thoroughly  as  in  the  time  of  Weiss ; 
the  non-conciliatory  and  intolerant  spirit  of  Weiss  per- 
vaded Hoffman,  and  had  its  baneful  effect,  repelling  men 
like  Dr.  Abraham  Wagner  and  causing  a  dwindling  down 
to  less  than  half  a  dozen  catechumens  where  there  might 
have  been  scores. 

After  the  resignation  of  Balzer  Hoffman  in  1749  ^  g^^' 
eral  conference  was  talked  of  but  not  called  because  many 
felt  that  under  existing  circumstances  but  little  good  could 
be  accomplished.  Near  the  close  of  1753,  five  heads  of 
families  {Haiis-vdter)  agreed  to  visit  each  other  in  their 
homes  in  rotation  every  third  Sunday  to  edify  one  another 
and  to  assist  one  another  by  discussing  matters  of  doctrine. 
This  they  chose  to  call  Besiich^  visit,  rather  than  Ver- 
sammhcng,  meeting,  because  according  to  their  view  many 
important  things  belonged  to  a  Christian  meeting  which  they 
had  not  undertaken.  Not  a  word  was  said  about  disci- 
pline, or  the  ordering  of  external  arrangements  or  the  neces- 
sity of  rules,  or  the  pledging  themselves  together  as  a  body. 
The  compact  thus  formed  was  regarding  only  as  a  semi- 
private  arrangement  for  religious  culture  by  the  families 
that  took  part  —  all  who  wished  to  attend  being  welcome 
to  do  so.  In  1759  a  few  more  families  joined  in  with  the 
services  and  it  was  decided  to  meet  every  two  instead  of 
three  weeks.     But  the  system  was  too  limited  and  was  far 


64  The  Pennsylvania- German  Society. 

from  being  satisfactory.  From  the  minutes  of  the  general 
conference  held  in  1762,  it  is  evident  that  matters  seemed 
to  be  drifting  to  utter  decay  ;  the  young  people  had  no  safe 
guide  or  direction  with  respect  to  their  teaching  of  life,  the 
children  did  not  receive  any  catechetical  instruction,  there 
was  no  system  for  general  public  religious  meetings,  nor 
organization  into  whose  hands  a  pious  parent  might  entrust 
his  children. 

In  view  of  this  condition  of  things  a  general  conference 
was  held  Saturday,  October  9,  1762,  at  the  house  of 
Christopher  Kriebel.  The  existing  state  among  the  people 
was  discussed  at  some  length  and  a  paper,  presented  by 
Christopher  Kriebel,  was  read  and  approved.  The  line  of 
thought  of  said  paper  was  that  the  deliverance  from  op- 
pression, the  replacing  of  the  property  abandoned,  their 
preservation,  the  deliverance  from  the  hands  of  the  Indians, 
the  blessings  on  their  labors,  the  continuance  of  their  lives 
should  incite  them  to  gratitude,  but,  to  translate  the  word- 
ing :  '<We,  on  the  contrary,  have  delighted  ourselves  in 
things  of  time ;  envy,  slander,  calumny,  false  accusations 
have  separated  us  and  the  young  are  neglected.  Such  a 
condition  of  things  ought  to  touch  our  hearts  and  cause  us 
to  tremble  in  view  of  the  final  judgment.  We  ought  to 
turn  away  from  these  things,  avoid  useless  disputations, 
live  Christian  lives,  turn  unto  the  Lord  for  direction  and 
seek  to  become  learners  in  His  school.  Were  we  to  do 
this  our  yokes  would  be  lighter  and  we  would  be  recon- 
ciled to  one  another."  A  few  of  the  lines  of  discussion 
are  indicated  by  the  following  questions  propounded  at 
the  conference  :  "  (i)  Will  we  be  able  to  bear  with  one  an- 
other, if  a  closer  union  is  formed  so  that  what  is  undertaken 
may  not  be  ended  in  strife  and  works  of  evil?  (2)  Will 
we  be  willing  to  grant  to  each  other  the  liberty  of  reading 


S c hzv en kf elder  Imprints. 


SHORT  dUESTioMS 

DOCTRINE  OF  FAITH, 

TIlETESTIMOBilf  OF  THE 

Answered  and  Confirmed. 

...■  „,T»r.cn»o"«HiT'Mn"Thr.  .lusT  fBlNr.MT- 

K.  /I.  Htr.  Ihrltloittirr  .tthills,  '"•■" 


RklppackvlIlP,  Pa- 

(•,,„. -,1<.V  J     M.S.h-ien.-^ 
I   S  1.    I 


^  «u  rje 


S-  r  tt  ^  e  n 


s 

i 

©  ^  t  i  (I  n  d> «       p 

©laulifns-frlircJ 


ieaiitwettet  untitftdtigrt. 

I  Im'  ([iriflli*fn   ©lanttiie  -  Sdiilttn  ju 

(inrm  anfanglii^cn  Unlrtr(4t  nii^liit 

JU  gctrauitin. 


li"' 


It. 


L 


SfiippadiDillr,  |)a. 

(Brttudi  kti  3,  OT,  S(i)uncinann 
18  5  5 


...3 


.S\  u  r  5  c 


11  t  b  c  c    bit 


^wl.  6cl)vift3e'i'i"ii^ 

bciiiimnn-tct  luit  bCfO(i[jri.r. 

S)cii   ebnYiIulKii   eioiiK-iiJ.edjiilaii 

•511  ciiicni  fliiifliujIUbi'ii  UiitaiicOt 

niil;l«1)  JU  si'-bcaml/'ti. 


P]?llfl^cIpl>lo, 

CJfbriKft  6?  (Jar  If  Iff,   'tU" 

3mi)lfn.(irM(Tc,  n"*- 


ODet 

5infdn9(i(^er  Uitterric^f 

Ulltn 

g^tiftlirf)cn®laubfn«=©(l)ulet;n, 

3ung  c6er  tU  rt, 
nit^ig  un&  nielict)  |Tcl?  6im  5u  iibm. 

■  SoriniC'l:  >>' 
Sncn  oit^crn  9fun&  fan  nrtmonD  [cjm,  Aufcr  Ofn) 
hrgclestill/  twHttifi  3<fu«  (ESnU*?. 

«I)b<f.3:20,JI. 
3tfu«  €|)tl|tn«  (ftCireifliim,  oufoel^MJa 
giin|(  !5au  in  (inanMr  9<fii.i<t,  miii(a  vi  <mm  tti> 
lijtn  Scnjcl  inCiimJE)eS!ia!J!. 

p^iiabrtp^id'/ 
©rtrurft  b<o  -SJenrid)  tSJJiIUt,  in  ht 


VARIOUS   EDITIONS  Olf  THE  SCHULTZ   CATECHISM. 


66  The  Pennsylrania- German  Society. 

authors  other  than  those  commonly  accepted  by  us  ?  (3) 
Will  we  be  ready  to  bear  with  one  another  if  in  some 
point  of  doctrine  we  can  not  agree  in  our  views?  "  The 
favorable  answers  given  indicate  plainly  a  decided  depar- 
ture from  the  position  assumed  by  men  of  the  type  of  Weiss 
and  Hoffman.  The  meeting  was  altogether  a  heart- 
searching,  prayerful  and  face-to-face  consideration  of  the 
sad  condition  of  affairs  among  them.  The  necessity  for  a 
closer  union  having  been  considered  and  plans  devised, 
the  want  of  a  suitable  catechism  was  also  considered. 
Christopher  Schultz  was  instructed  to  prepare  his  manu- 
script catechism  for  the  press.  The  following  spring  it 
was  put  into  the  hands  of  the  printer. 

The  system  or  plan  devised  was  continued  until  the 
adoption  of  the  constitution  in  1782.  Further  details  of 
the  arrangement  are  given  in  a  letter  by  Christopher 
Schultz  substantially  as  follows:  "The  arrangement  is 
that  we  heads  of  families  {Hatis-vdter)  jointly  conduct 
our  religious  services.  Each  is  as  much  and  has  as  much 
right  as  the  other,  free  and  unrestrained.  But  he  in  whose 
house  a  meeting  is  held  provides  the  materials  for  the 
forenoon  exercises.  He  who  has  a  word  of  exhortation 
of  whatever  nature,  be  it  his  own  thoughts  or  selection 
from  hymns  or  books,  presents  the  same  to  the  meeting 
upon  which  it  is  discussed  and  applied.  For  dinner  we 
stay  at  the  said  house — except  such  as  go  to  neighboring 
houses  —  and  eat  a  piece  of  bread  and  butter  according 
to  necessity,  the  family  always  providing  the  guests  with 
such  meal.  In  the  forenoon  the  exercises  consist  of  sing- 
ing, prayer,  reading  of  the  gospel  lesson,  singing  of 
another  hymn,  reading  of  the  sermon  and  closing  with  a 
prayer.  In  the  afternoon  we  have  Kinderlehr.  Each 
pupil  repeats  a  verse  of  the  gospel  lesson  of  the  day  and 


Hymnals. 


67 


Sifii  =  (Sinoirriittfff-5 


in  ficti  l\ili.-uD 


i  a  1)1  in  lung 

(mtlrmihcil*  ultei) 
f(t)^nct  lfhr:tci(Vrt  un6  frt'ouliclKt 


^ 


I  e  6  c  IV 


5Btl(1)C  von  InniKr  S'l'  b"  ■!""  f^"  SBffcnncrn 

yn^  firbhokiM  ^f^  (Jlfnm  un6  2B^Vb(iw 

iKiu  e^nOI  bi*  >nit;o  tn  Ulbuif 

qiirtttn 

9?Qd)  bcii  ^aupt^Sriicffn  bet  gfjiiftli-- 

•ttc"  ht)t  iii'O  0*l(iiil*fii5  <m9(tbiil'i. 

lUld 

OTit  eiium  OJnjfidjni^  ^cr  2itrl 

unf  ^tl^),^  ■JTuKlidjcn  aifjifttrn 
M.Mm 

Slnjfljp-  nlfo  inronimtn  gctragtn, 

gum  Sobe  ®Ortc^  imb  btilfamcn 

gibjuun^  nil  Chiiitonrl)uni, 
an?  ?iiti  «g»*tn 

<i5«tm«ilteirn,  ^^^nlcft  bio   CbridolJlj   Suur 
«ijf  lcfl(n  nrttntsfff  JiiMiilyi.     .7*? 


gtcueingtrft^wre 


©cfang=§^u(0, 


^^ammlung 

(nttmirtKil*  <ltn) 

er6QUli(J)cr  SicDcr, 

ijotf)  Nn  jjjaui'tftucftn  ti«t  Cbnflli'djm  £<!)«  uno 
@laub(n«  (ingctt^dkt 


(StSnufi  b«u  CtiiiriiB  'S""'".  inkft  JiMjtm  Slrjjf 


(Sinjjcii  tag  I66litt)j?<  ©«f(6dflt. 


■ytr,  (2'«n  (rfi  font  Sii  Mrbtii 
304S  iiiior  aUdi  %b<U(ik 

?(in  bcffcn  fcD  jii  i^U"? 
l^cljou'  tVii?  Itjiiir  I»c"ii  dir  Bfobffl- 
"Dio  Dcin  *ni.  l.-lbfl  nl)»btn. 

3u  eicn.ii  ft»ii  out  fcH'tin  QAroii' 

Split  inuftnb  ifluftiiD  T><nrj|i 

Sen  fehJnfioii  Vobjcfiiiy 
SBoi  Ootrts  'JtjioiK  lul)'tii 
■Jjcm  Commc  iubil>itn, 

");»  nUtriufrcin  "JtuftrSinna. 


tnlbnlKtlb 

tint  Soraralong  ttbnoUdjfr  ffirr, 

d)ri|'llif1)«t  Cf{)r> 


IS69 


VARIOUSjEDlTIONS  OF  SCHWENKFELDER  HYMN-BOOKS. 


68  The  Pennsylvania- German  Society. 

all  are  questioned  on  the  literal,  theological  and  spiritual 
sense  of  the  same.  Catechization  follows,  the  young 
being  divided  into  classes  and  being  treated  differently- 
according  to  age,  etc.  From  this  you  perceive  that  we 
have  not  undertaken  to  organize  a  Christian  denomination 
{Christliche  Gemeine)  to  be  directed  and  served  by  min- 
isters." The  meetings  were  held  alternately  at  the  follow- 
ing houses,  one  Sunday  in  the  Upper  District,  the  fol- 
lowing Sunday  in  the  Lower  District :  Casper  Kriebel, 
Hans  Christoph  Heebner,  Casper  Seibt,  George  Kriebel, 
Christoph  Hoffman,  Christoph  Kriebel,  George  Schultz, 
Melchior  Schultz,  Christoph  Schultz,  Christoph  Krauss, 
Christoph  Yeakel,  John  Yeakel,  Sr.,  Gregorius  Schultz, 
George  Schultz.  The  hymn-book  used  by  them  was  the 
Netieingerichtetes  Gesanghuch  prepared  by  them  and 
printed  by  Christopher  Saur,  1762. 

Among  the  salient  features  of  this  period  may  be  men- 
tioned the  following  relating  to  organized  efforts  in  the 
line  of  public  worship.  The  systematic  and  regular  cate- 
chization of  the  young  was  begun  in  the  spring  of  1763 
by  Christopher  Schultz  and  Balzer  Hoffman,  the  latter 
also  officiating  at  marriages  and  funerals,  although  not 
taking  an  active  part  in  the  established  system  of  meetings. 
The  following  year  Hoffman  relinquished  all  public  ser- 
vices on  account  of  the  infirmities  of  age,  being  past  seventy- 
six  at  that  time.  In  1764  the  school  system  described  in 
another  chapter  was  organized  and  the  following  year  the 
erection  of  a  school-house  at  Towamencin  took  place, 
probably  the  first  house  erected  for  general  purposes  by 
the  Schwenkf elders  in  America.  In  1765  the  justly  cele- 
brated "  Heintze  Correspondence"  with  European  friends 
was  opened.  The  exchange  of  letters  with  their  friends 
since  the  migration  grew  to  large  proportions,  and  thus 


Plan  of  Religions  Services.  69 

many  personals  were  recorded  and  preserved  that  otherwise 
would  have  been  lost.  In  1769  a  general  marriage  con- 
tract was  drawn  up  which  was  renewed  in  fuller  detail  in 
1779.  These  forms  illustrate  the  method  of  procedure  in 
case  any  of  their  young  people  wished  to  enter  the  mar- 
ried state.  The  latter  is  given  in  full  in  the  Appendix. 
The  scheme  of  worship  and  work  thus  devised,  though  a 
considerable  advance  on  former  plans,  was  in  many 
respects  defective  as  later  experience  showed. 

Although  the  period  from  1734  to  1782  may  appear 
gloomy  on  account  of  the  lack  of  hearty  cooperation  as  a 
religious  brotherhood  by  organizing  a  church  or  society 
true  spiritual  culture  was  by  no  means  overlooked.  George 
Weiss  formed  the  habit  of  writing  short  religious  tracts 
and  sending  them  to  the  young  under  his  charge.  This 
he  kept  up  nearly  all  his  lifetime.  Balzer  Hoffman  was 
also  a  voluminous  writer.  Catechization  of  the  young 
was  soon  taken  up  and  continued  through  this  period.  An 
earnestness  of  life  was  cultivated  with  which  the  church  of 
to-day  is  unfamiliar.  Much  quiet  meditation  was  engaged 
in,  and  hymns,  sermons  and  other  sacred  writings  were 
copied.  Memorial  Day  was,  during  this  period,  the  great 
day  of  the  year.  Weiss,  Hoffman  and  Schultz  in  par- 
ticular held  forth  on  this  day  in  powerful  addresses  which 
in  many  cases  were  copied  and  recopied  and  are  worthy 
of  being  carefully  studied.  These  addresses  were  mainly 
heart-searching,  doctrinal  sermons  and  must  have  had  a 
strong  influence  in  the  moulding  of  their  hearers. 

The  plan  of  services  agreed  upon  in  1762  and  continued 
twenty  years  threw  more  responsibility  upon  the  individual 
worshipper,  helped  to  develop  a  deeper  spirituality  and 
did  not  have  the  blighting  effect  of  the  modern  system  of 
thinking,    singing,   praying   and  worshipping    by    a  paid 


70  The  Pennsylvania- German  Society. 

proxy.  Marriages  were  not  entered  into  as  lightly  as  at 
present.  Questions  were  asked,  a  sermon  was  preached 
and  the  occasion  made  almost  as  solemn  as  that  of  admis- 
sion to  church.  Marriage  then  was  a  sacred  sacrament 
and  not  merely  a  light-hearted  legal  pledge  or  promise  to 
be  broken  as  lightly  as  entered  upon.  This  period  wit- 
nessed the  formation  and  publication  of  the  catechism,  the 
Ej'ldtiterimg,  and  the  hymn-book,  the  composition  of  many 
tracts  on  religious  subjects  and  of  the  Glauhenslehre  in 
particular,  the  compilation  and  transcription  of  large  manu- 
script volumes  still  in  a  good  state  of  preservation.  The 
Charity  Fund  was  organized,  the  School  Fund  collected 
and  practically  all  the  tools  devised  and  formed  which 
were  made  use  of  in  the  closer  organization  that  superseded 
this  transitional  stage. 


CHAPTER   VI. 

The  Adoption  of  the  Constitution  of  1782. 

.  HILE  considering  the  adoption  of 
a  constitution  by  the  Schwenk- 
felders,  the  reader  will  remember 
that  by  this  step  the  adherents  of 
the  views  of  Schwenkfeld  en- 
tered upon  a  new  period.  Never 
before  had  a  regular  organization 
been  attempted.  Before  1734 
this  had  been  utterly  impossible  on  account  of  state  reasons 
beyond  the  control  of  the  Schwenkfelders.  After  1734 
organization  as  a  church  had  been  resisted  and  thus  prob- 
ably prevented  by  Weiss  and  Hoftman.  Of  the  families 
that  migrated  in  1734,  only  those  of  Melchior  Kriebel,  of 
Gwynedd  and  David  Heebner,  of  Worcester,  were  left  un- 
broken by  death  and  neither  of  these  men  joined  in  the  or- 
ganization. Of  the  forty  odd  families  formed  in  the  first 
twenty-five  years  after  the  migration,  less  than  a  score  re- 
mained and  less  than  half  a  score  were  represented  by  the 
heads  in  the  organization.  Of  those  even  who  had  joined 
in  the  organization  of  1762  and  had  taken  part  thereafter  in 
the  religious  services,  most  had  passed  away.  The  natural 
inference  would  seem  to  be  that  the  original  immigrants 
stood  in  the  way  of  a  more  perfect  union  and  that  only 

(71) 


72  The  Pennsylvania- German  Society. 

after  death  had  removed  many  did  organization  become 
possible.  The  trend  of  things  seemed  to  demand  the 
step  and  discussion  arose  and  grew.  A  chronicler  of  the 
tinies  says:  "It  is  to  be  noted  that  about  the  year  1781  a 
movement  began  to  manifest  itself  more  and  more  among 
our  people  to  unite  themselves  more  closely  into  a  religious 
society,  in  order  that  in  a  mutual  way  such  regulations  and 
arrangements  might  be  made  and  agreed  upon  among  our- 
selves as  would  be  serviceable  to  good  conduct  and  edifi- 
cation and  the  upholding  of  our  Christian  confession  of 
faith  and  the  maintaining  of  a  proper  discipline.  Many 
were  indifferent,  mutual  mistrust  seemed  to  fill  some  hearts 
and  there  was  so  much  lukewarmness  manifest  that  utter 
ruin  seemed  to  stare  the  people  in  the  face.  There  was 
great  neglect  in  the  fulfillment  of  ordinary  Christian 
duties.  The  children  were  remiss  in  Christian  culture, 
the  young  people  upon  and  after  marriage  showed  scant 
attention  to  the  doctrines  of  the  fathers,  many  seemed  to 
be  surcharged  with  envy  and  calumny  and  indifference 
concerning  many  serious  matters  prevailed." 

In  the  movement  Christopher  Schultz  was  the  leading 
spirit  and  well  earned  the  name  "  Father  "  in  this  connec- 
tion. Others,  indeed,  took  important  parts  and  should 
not  be  forgotten,  but  he  preeminently  deserves  to  be  recog- 
nized for  the  leading  place  he  filled.  In  the  deliberations 
frequent  reference  was  made  to  the  writings  of  Schwenk- 
feld,  Christopher  Schultz  and  a  recently  published  tract 
on  church  discipline  issued  by  the  Quakers,  the  duty  of 
Christian  fellowship  was  strongly  advocated  and  the 
question  raised  how  any  one  could  have  a  right  to  separate 
himself  from  others. 

At  the  first  constitutional  convention  held  in  the  "  Lower 
District,"  February  5,  1782,  the  condition  of  the  Schwenk- 


O       r 


l/l 

in 

zr 

z- 

(/) 

in 

tc 

t^ 

O 

A-p-proval  of  Church   Constitution.  73 

f elders  and  their  children  was  considered,  some  remarks 
were  made  and  the  following  questions  proposed  for  con- 
sideration :  "  (i)  Is  it  necessary  and  profitable  to  educate 
children  in  Christian  doctrine?  (2)  Can  more  time  than 
formerly  be  allowed  for  their  instruction?  (3)  Should 
a  different  method  or  other  teachers  be  employed  in  teach- 
ing? (4)  Should  not  the  newly  married  devote  more  time 
to  the  study  of  Christian  doctrine?  "  At  the  second  confer- 
ence held  in  "  Coshehoppe,"  a  rough  sketch  of  the  con- 
templated constitution  was  discussed.  The  third  confer- 
ence was  held  in  Towamencin,  June  i,  1782.  After  some 
preliminary  discussion  the  proposed  constitution  as  drawn 
up  by  Reverend  Christopher  Schultz  was  laid  before  the 
meeting  under  the  name:  ^^  Vorschlag  niltzlicher  Stiikke 
bey  eincr  religiosen  Gesellschafft  in  christliches  Bedeneken 
ZJi  Ziehen.''^  Some  at  once  gave  their  assent  to  the  scheme 
and  others  asked  time  for  consideration.  The  questions 
raised  at  the  first  conference  were  then  discussed.  The 
first  was  answered  in  the  affirmative,  the  second  was  laid 
on  the  table,  the  third  was  answered  in  the  negative,  and 
the  fourth  was  laid  on  the  table.  It  was  agreed  that  all 
who  gave  their  assent  to  the  proposed  constitution  should 
sign  it  in  testimony  thereof.  The  following  form  of  sub- 
scription, as  adopted  August  15,  was  annexed  to  the  con- 
stitution and  then  signed:  "We,  the  undersigned,  hereby 
declare  in  writing,  that  we  approve  the  above  constitution 
and  that  it  is  our  desire  that  our  society  may  be  united  on 
said  plan,  and  each  of  us  hereby  promises  that  by  the  help 
of  God  he  will  in  his  weakness  help  to  promote  the  same." 
George  Kriebel  said  on  Memorial  Day,  1789,  that  Chris- 
topher Schultz  told  him  that  the  constitution  was  given  as 
he  first  wrote  it  without  changing  a  word  and  that  he  felt 
a  movement  in  his  heart  as  the  same  was  put  into  his  mind. 


74  The  Pennsylvania- German  Society. 

The  Constitution  or  Fundamental  Principles 

OF    THE    ScHWENKFELDER    ChURCH,    AS 

Adopted  in  1782. 

1.  Every  person  desiring  to  be  a  member  of  this  Church 
should  concern  himself  about  a  proper  and  approved  ideal 
upon  which  the  members  are  to  be  established  in  all  things, 
and  in  accordance  with  which  they  are  to  form  their  union. 

2.  All  those  who  would  be  in  this  religious  association 
should  place  this  foundation  and  ideal  before  their  eyes  as 
an  aim  set  before  them  for  which  they  are  to  strive  with 
becoming  zeal  and  energy. 

3.  In  God's  nature  one  beholds  love  primarily  as  that 
excellent  outflowing  virture  which  binds  together  God  and 
man.  All  those  who  wish  to  take  sure  steps  for  the  reali- 
zation of  said  ideal  must,  first  of  all,  form  and  maintain 
their  unity  by  this  bond  of  perfection  among  themselves. 

4.  Built  on  this  fundamental  principle  of  the  divine 
nature  —  namely,  love  —  their  single,  immovable  aim  must 
and  will  be  to  glorify  God  and  promote  the  general  wel- 
fare of  each  member. 

5.  In  compliance  with  such  object,  their  first  care  in 
their  common  affairs  must  be  directed  to  a  proper  arrange- 
ment of  public  worship  flowing  from  said  foundation  and 
agreeing  with  said  ideal. 

6.  The  gospel  or  word  of  God  is  the  treasure  which  the 
Lord  Jesus  gave  his  apostles,  and  by  which,  as  He  com- 
manded, the  nations  were  to  be  called  to  faith  and  gathered, 
to  be  nurtured  and  ruled.  It  is  the  chief  element  in  public 
worship  and  the  rule  of  all  its  exercises. 

7.  It  follows  that  they  not  only  ought  to  possess  this 
treasure,  but  they  must  also,  with  care,  see  to  it  that  the 
gospel  and  the  word  of  God  are  preserved  and  practiced 
by  them  in  purity  and  simplicity,  without  which  they  can- 
not be  nor  remain  a  Christian  people. 


Fundamental  Principles.  75 

8.  It  follows,  also,  that  they  must  have  persons  among 
themselves  who  know,  live  and  teach  the  doctrine  :  other- 
wise it  would  be  a  dead  letter,  and  could  not  bring  about 
the  good  referred  to  in  6 ;  hence  proper  plans  must  be  de- 
vised in  this  respect. 

9.  There  follow  also  the  unceasing  effort  and  care  for 
the  instruction  of  youth,  both  in  what  may  be  learned  in 
schools  as  also  in  what  should  be  taught  in  the  study  of 
the  word  of  God  or  Christian  doctrine,  without  which  their 
aim  referred  to  in  4  cannot  be  maintained  nor  the  doctrine 
be  upheld. 

10.  The  repeated  voluntary  gathering  for  public  worship 
with  appointment  of  time  and  place  for  the  same  belongs 
also  to  the  common  care  and  concern. 

11.  Besides  the  appointment  of  public  worship  and  the 
practice  of  God's  word,  a  religious  society,  if  it  would  at 
all  attain  its  object,  must  strive  to  uphold  a  proper  discipline 
among  themselves,  in  order  that  through  the  same  a  guard 
and  restraint  may  be  set  against  the  attacks  and  hindrances 
of  the  evil  one,  and  that  his  work  may  be  destroyed  where 
it  has  taken  root ;  that  a  good  and  useful  deportment  may 
be  maintained  in  intercourse  and  conduct ;  that  the  hand 
of  mutual  help  may  be  offered  under  all  occurrences,  and 
that  virtue  and  good  morals  may  be  promoted. 

12.  They  must  have  fixed  rules  and  regulations  among 
themselves  by  which  they  may  know  who  belong  to  their 
society  or  not ;  they  must  also  use  diligence  to  keep  cor- 
rect records  of  all  that  is  enacted  by  them  and  upon  which 
they  have  mutually  agreed  in  matters  relating  to  discipline, 
in  order  that  no  one  may  take  ignorance  as  an  excuse,  but 
that  all  may  conform  thereto. 

13.  Since  good  rules  are  necessary  in  the  exercise  of 
commendable   discipline,  the  revealed  will  of    God    con- 


*j6  The  Pennsylvania- German  Society. 

tained  in  the  Ten  Commandments  in  their  full  and  perfect 
sense  will  be  to  them  the  best  and  most  adequate  rule  for 
the  promotion  of  good  conduct  or  morals,  for  defense 
against  the  evil,  for  discriminating  between  the  good  and 
the  evil. 

14.  In  conformity  to  their  aim  and  rules,  they  will,  be- 
sides this,  also  consider  useful  and  proper  regulations,  so 
that  commendable  decorum  may  be  preserved  under  the 
diverse  circumstances,  as  marriage,  training  of  children, 
family  life,  death,  burials  and  the  like. 

15.  The  practice  and  maintenance  of  such  discipline  and 
regulations  will  always  have  their  temptations,  since  we 
all  carry  these  by  nature  in  our  own  bosoms  ;  it  will,  there- 
fore, likewise  be  necessary  to  have  faithful  persons  who 
will  see  to  it  that  discipline  and  good  order  are  not  neg- 
lected, but  maintained  and  promoted  by  each  member. 

16.  In  order,  however,  that  such  service  may  not  be 
made  too  difficult,  but  be  possible  and  endurable  for  such 
persons,  each  and  every  member,  by  proper  regulations, 
must  take  part  in  said  exercises  and  supervision,  whereby 
at  the  first  notice  of  the  outbreak  of  an  offence  its  progress 
may  at  once  be  checked,  and  the  deacon  not  be  troubled 
by  it. 

17.  Certain  conferences  should  also  be  appointed  as 
time  may  occasion  or  the  circumstances  of  the  general  wel- 
fare may  demand,  at  which  the  condition  of  the  Church, 
for  weal  or  woe,  may  be  considered,  doubtful  or  question- 
able matters  decided,  and  the  general  welfare  and  useful 
arrangements  and  institutions  in  general  may  be  cared  for. 

The  following  were  the  original  subscribers  to  the  con- 
stitution :  George  Schultz,  Christopher  Yeakel,  Christo- 
pher Schultz,  Jacob  Yeakel,  David  Schultz,  Christopher 
Krauss,   George   Wiegner,   Abraham  Schultz,    Balthasar 


Awi  of  Organization.  *j*j 

Schultz,  Andrew  Schultz,  George  Kriebel,  Jeremiah 
Kriebel,  David  Schultz,  Melchior  Schultz,  Balthasar 
Krauss, Christopher  Meschter,  Casper  Yeakel,  Christopher 
Schultz,  Jr.,  Melchior  Yeakel,  Balthasar  Schultz,  Gre- 
gorius  Schultz,  Matthias  Gerhard,  Christopher  Hoffman, 
Abraham  Kriebel,  Melchior  Kriebel,  Jr.,  Jeremiah  Kriebel, 
Christopher  Schultz,  Abraham  Kriebel,  Jr.,  Andrew  Krie- 
bel, George  Kriebel,  Jr.,  George  Heydrich,  Abraham 
Drescher,  George  Heebner,  Melchior  Schultz,  Jr.,  Chris- 
topher Yeakel,  Jr.,  David  Kriebel,  Christopher  Yeakel, 
Abraham  Yeakel,  Peter  Gerhard,  George  Anders,  George 
Schneider. 

These  41  organizers  are  called  Haus-vdter  (House 
fathers,  heads  of  families)  and  a  study  of  the  names  shows 
that  in  all  probability  they  were  all  married  men.  The 
widows  and  the  wives,  the  unmarried  young  men  and 
young  women  are  thus  made  conspicuous  by  their  absence. 
That  they  were  not  overlooked  will  be  shown  in  another 
connection. 

On  the  23d  of  September  a  conference  was  held  at  which, 
among  other  proceedings,  the  following  explanation  was 
recorded ;  that  the  aim  of  organization  into  a  religious 
body  is  not  to  set  a  net  to  be  drawn  tight  after  persons  are 
caught,  nor  to  make  contracts  that  children  must  be  put 
under  religious  instruction  a  certain  length  of  time  as  some 
might  suppose,  but  to  show  that  the  duty  towards  Him  and 
our  fellow-men  placed  upon  us  by  God  is  recognized  and 
that  an  effort  will  be  made  mutually  to  help  each  other  to 
fulfill  the  same. 

It  may  not  be  amiss  in  conclusion  to  quote  the  following 
words  of  Christopher  Schultz  penned  on  the  occasion 
of  the  completion  of  the  constitution.  He  wrote  these 
words :  ' 


78  The  Pennsylvania- German  Society. 

**  It  is  indeed  easy  to  place  a  proposition  on  paper  and 
perhaps  even  to  give  consent  to  it.  The  proper  grounding 
of  the  same  within  one's  self  and  its  carrying  out  are  a 
different  matter.  The  former  without  the  latter  is  but 
vanity,  however  good  and  necessary  this  may  be.  It  is 
incontestible  that  if  such  a  plan  is  to  be  carried  out,  love 
must  have  its  due  place  and  must  rule  within  us  and 
between  us.  Wherefore  we  must  needs  be  concerned 
about  this  foundation  and  seek  after  it,  in  order  that  it  may 
manifest  itself  in  us  from  all  sides,  so  that  its  work  and 
fruits  may  give  evidence  that  we  are  Christ's  disciples. 
The  most  serious  question,  indeed,  with  me  is,  whether  at 
this  time  such  a  plan  can  continue  to  exist  among  us. 
Let  us  not  flatter  ourselves.  For  this  purpose  it  is  neces- 
sary that  we  place  plainly  before  our  minds  the  nature  and 
marks  of  love  as  described  by  the  Apostle  Paul,  and  then 
that  we  look  back  upon  ourselves  to  see  how  far  these 
marks  have  shown  themselves  within  us.  The  Lord  tells 
us  that  he  who  would  build  a  tower  should  first  sit  down 
and  count  the  cost  whether  he  have  sufficient  to  finish  it ; 
otherwise  he  might  as  well  leave  it  undone.  He  who  tries 
to  follow  this  counsel  will  here  find  occasion  to  be  seriously 
afraid  and  concerned  with  me  in  consideration  of  the  sor- 
rowful product  that  manifests  itself  in  mutual  conduct  and 
inclination.  I  confess  that  although  in  the  projecting  of 
the  Vorschlag,  I  was  favorably  inclined  and,  as  it  were, 
led  in  a  becoming  ease  of  mind,  certain  things  came  up 
to  my  mind  soon  after  that  depressed  me  considerably. 
Meanwhile,  giving  up  is  a  most  sinful  despair  while  God 
lives.  Whatever  weakness  and  shortcoming  may  be  in  us, 
in  Him  is  and  may  be  found  full  counsel  and  compensation 
but  we  do  not  concern  ourselves  about  the  affliction  of 
Joseph  and  sleep  on  beds  of  ivory.     In  the  name  and  by 


Invocation. 


79 


the  command  of  our  faithful  mediator  and  intercessor  let 
us  press  in  and  besiege  the  throne  of  grace.  How  wel- 
come, indeed,  would  we  be  before  our  holy  Father  in 
heaven,  were  we  to  implore  Him  for  the  proper  thing,  the 
gift  of  His  love  !  O  !  my  beloved  !  we  must  make  up  our 
minds  to  this,  otherwise  all  our  toil  will  be  useless.  We 
must  also  implore  Him  for  the  pardon  of  all  that  we  have 
hitherto  done  against  His  love.  It  is  also  necessary  that 
we  learn  to  recognize  and  to  admit  our  duty  and  show  our 
consequent  inclination  heartily  to  pardon  one  another. 
Effect  this  within  us  all  by  thy  Spirit,  O,  Father  of  all 
grace,  for  the  merits  of  thy  dear  Son,  to  thine  own  eternal 
glory.  Amen." 


CHAPTER   VII. 
Church  Life  Under  the  Constitution  of  1782. 

LL  the  various  activities  pertaining  to 
church  life  conducted  by  the  Schwenk- 
felders  at  the  adoption  of  the  consti- 
tution were  of  course  continued  and 
assumed  by  the  new  organization  sub- 
ject to  the  proper  limiting  conditions. 
The  relation  of  this  body  to  the  teach- 
ings of  Schwenkfeld  are  thus  expressed 
by  the  Formula  of  Government:  "The  members  of  the 
Schwenkfelder  church  believe  that  the  Bible  is  the  suffi- 
cient and  only  infallible  rule  of  faith  and  practice  and  in 
their  interpretation  of  the  same  follow  for  substance  of 
teaching  the  system  of  doctrine  as  taught  by  Casper 
Schwenkfeld  of  Ossig."  The  constitution  as  adopted 
and  referred  to  in  the  previous  chapter  was  frequently 
copied  and  thus  circulated.  It  was  first  printed  as  an  ap- 
pendix to  the  Erldiiterung  of  1830  and  became  a  part  of 
the  Constitution  and  By-Laws  of  the  Schwenkfelder  So- 
ciety, issued  in  185 1,  of  which  an  English  version  appeared 
in  1882  and  revised  editions  in  1898  and  1902,  known  as 
the  Formula  for  the  Government  and  Discipline  of  the 

(So) 


Appeal  to  the  Young.  8i 

Schwenkfeldcr  Clmrch.  These  various  editions  were 
growths  and  evolutions  of  the  scheme  as  mapped  out  in 
1782,  adapted  to  the  needs,  wants  and  emergencies  as 
they  manifested  themselves.  The  term  "Church,"  as 
applied  to  this  body  of  believers  is  of  quite  recent  date, 
the  earlier  terms  being  Gemeinde,  Gemeine,  Gesellschafft, 
Society,  Fraternity.  The  term  "  Schwenkfelder  "  is  used 
in  preference  to  "  Schwenkfeldian  "  because  it  is  the  cus- 
tomary word  in  all  records  of  the  past  and  in  legal  papers 
of  the  present. 

Christopher  Schultz,  by  request,  drew  up  an  "Appeal" 
to  the  young  in  1783,  to  encourage  them  to  join  the  "  So- 
ciety." It  was  also  agreed  that  in  the  case  of  women 
signing  should  not  be  called  for  at  their  admission,  a  mere 
word  of  assent  being  considered  sufficient.  The  questions 
asked  at  the  admission  of  members  were  used  quite  early 
in  the  history  of  the  organization,  but  the  authorship  of  the 
same  seems  to  be  forgotten,  tradition  pointing  however  at 
George  Kriebel. 

Christopher  Schultz's  "Appeal  "  was  used  frequently  in 
entreating  the  young  for  membership,  but  with  all  this  the 
spirit  of  freedom  was  so  strong  that  the  winning  of  new 
members  was  not  an  easy  task.  The  records  show  that 
as  early  as  the  year  1803  there  was  a  period  of  great  laxity 
in  church  matters ;  many  had  wandered  away  to  other 
churches,  the  parents  were  indifferent  about  their  children 
and  affairs  in  general  were  at  a  low  ebb.  Parents  were 
urged  by  resolution  to  use  proper  efforts  to  encourage  their 
children  to  join  the  society  and  members  pledged  them- 
selves anew  to  use  diligence  to  promote  the  welfare  of  the 
body.  In  cases  of  discipline  names  of  offenders  were 
omitted  from  the  minutes  and  an  effort  was  made  to  win 
back  those  who  for  any  reason  had  severed  their  connec- 
6 


82  The  Pennsylvania- German  Society. 

tion  with  the  society.  During  this  period  many  of  the 
young  people  neglected  to  join  the  church  until  they  ex- 
pected to  be  married,  when  the  rules  and  regulations  made 
membership  a  necessity  if  they  hoped  to  have  the  ceremony 
performed  by  a  minister  of  the  society. 

By  resolution  it  was  agreed  in  1828,  at  a  conference 
that  children  over  whom  the  prayer  for  children  had  been 
pronounced  should  be  considered  members  of  the  society. 
This  rule  was  a  dead  letter  and  is  not  regarded  at  all  by 
present  regulations.  At  various  periods  defections  took 
place  to  other  religious  bodies.  Joshua  Schultz  said  :  "It 
has  never  been  the  custom  of  these  people  to  make  prose- 
lytes ;  on  the  contrary,  they  were  content  when  they  were 
not  assailed  by  others  on  this  account.  However,  not- 
withstanding their  endeavor  to  conduct  themselves  as  the 
Stille  im  Land  and  attend  to  their  own  calling,  they  did 
not  escape  these  troubles."  For  the  last  twenty-five  years 
the  church  has  enjoyed  a  more  earnest  effort  to  win  mem- 
bership and  the  cold  indifference  has  been  replaced  by  a 
more  becoming  zeal. 

Meeting  Houses. —  The  first  place  for  public  worship 
owned  by  the  Schwenkfelders  in  America  was  erected  of 
logs  in  the  summer  of  1790  where  the  present  Hosensack 
meeting  house  now  stands.  At  one  end  a  school-room 
was  partitioned  off,  supplied  with  tables  and  benches, 
where  for  many  years  a  parochial  school  was  conducted. 
The  first  services  in  this  building  were  held  August  8, 
1790,  the  tenth  Sunday  after  Trinity.  This  log  building 
was  replaced  by  a  more  modern  though  plain  and  unpre- 
tentious stone  structure  in  1838  which  a  noted  minister  was 
accustomed  to  call  a  mill.  It  was  remodelled  in  1893. 
The  second  meeting  house  was  erected  in  1791  where  the 
present  Washington  Meeting  House  stands.     The  first  ser- 


Meeting  Houses.  83 

vices  at  this  place  were  held  on  Memorial  Day,  Saturday, 
September  24,  1791.  In  1824  it  was  proposed  to  build  a 
new  and  more  modern  house  of  worship.  Neither  the 
vigorous  resistance  of  David  Schultz  against  the  sacri- 
legious destruction  of  the  old  building  nor  the  plea  of 
others  to  build  the  new  house  at  a  place  near  the  present 
Palm  Station  so  as  to  have  only  one  place  of  worship 
prevailed  and  the  new  building  went  up  the  same  year.  It 
was  remodelled  in  1883. 

The  first  meeting  house  in  the  so-called  Lower  District 
was  erected  in  1793  where  the  present  Towamencin  meet- 
ing house  stands.  The  school-house  that  stood  there  and 
had  done  service  for  many  years,  probably  gave  way  for  this 
new  structure.  The  first  services  were  held  July  21,  1793, 
the  eighth  Sunday  after  Trinity.  According  to  Edward 
Mathews:  "This  building  was  of  logs,  pebble-dashed, 
with  the  gable  ends  weather-boarded  and  painted  red. 
There  was  a  portico  in  front  with  seats  on  either  side. 
The  date  over  the  portico  was  of  1795  (3  ?)•"  This  building 
was  replaced  in  1854  ^7  ^  plain  stone  structure  which  in 
turn  gave  way  to  the  present  brick  building  in  1893.  In 
1825  the  first  Kraussdale  meeting  house  was  built  which 
did  service  until  1857  when  it  was  replaced  by  the  present 
brick  building  which  was  remodelled  in  1900. 

The  present  meeting  house  at  Lower  Salford,  the  first  at 
that  place,  was  erected  in  1869.  At  these  five  places  of 
meeting,  school  children  were  taught  in  the  week  during 
the  winter  months  practically  up  to  the  adoption  of  the 
public  school  system.  In  1835  the  question  was  raised 
whether  it  would  not  be  advisable  to  erect  a  house  of 
worship  in  the  Worcester  district.  The  result  was  that 
the  following  year  a  meeting  house  was  erected  where 
the  Worcester  meeting  house  now  stands.     This  was  re- 


84  The  Pennsylvania-German  Society. 

placed  by  the  present,  more  modern  building  in  1882. 
It  is  worthy  of  note  that  the  latter  building  was  the  first  one 
to  have  a  basement  for  Sunday-school  purposes  erected 
by  the  Schwenkfelders  and  that  this  innovation  met  with 
considerable  vigorous  opposition.  When  the  Towamencin 
meeting  house  of  1893  was  built,  the  basement  was  re- 
garded a  desirable  improvement  and  no  opposition  was 
encountered.  The  first  Mission  church  building  was  that 
of  the  First  Schwenkfelder  Church  in  Philadelphia,  Pa., 
and  was  dedicated  October  23,  1898. 

The  Ministry. —  At  the  time  of  organization,  brethren 
were  elected  to  whom  the  customary  ministerial  duties 
were  entrusted.  This  action  did  not  imply  the  creation  of 
a  priestly  class  or  a  recognition  of  a  division  of  the  mem- 
bership into  clerg}'  and  laity.  Duties  were  then  not  as 
exacting  nor  the  services  as  frequent  as  now  ;  men  were 
chosen  who  had  been  brought  up  in  the  atmosphere  of  the 
teachings  of  the  Schwenkfelders  and  had  thus  been  indoc- 
trinated quite  thoroughly.  No  fixed  salaries  were  paid  — 
in  fact  practically  no  financial  remuneration  was  given, 
though  the  ministers  were  not  allowed  to  live  in  want. 
Although  no  distinct  previous  resolution  had  been  passed 
when  the  first  edition  of  the  Constitution  a^id  By-Laws 
was  adopted  in  185 1,  a  clause  was  inserted  in  the  By-Laws 
saying  that  the  minister  was  to  perform  his  services  gratis, 
quoting  (or  rather  misquoting)  Christ's  word,  "  Freely  ye 
have  received,  freely  give,"  specifying,  however,  that  the 
ministers  were  to  be  excused  and  exempted  from  all  out- 
lays which  occur  in  the  church  and  which  may  be  called 
church  expenses.  This  was  not  in  harmony  with  the 
teaching  of  the  Glaubenslehrc  adopted  half  a  century 
before  by  the  Schwenkfelders  saying  that  it  is  a  duty  of 
hearers  towards  the  preachers,  "  Sie  nach  Nothdurfft  zu 


Licentiates.  85 

versorgeti."  As  years  rolled  on  and  the  changes  incident 
to  the  life  of  the  community  manifested  themselves  a  dif- 
ferent view  began  to  prevail  as  embodied  in  the  Formula  of 
Government^  1898.  With  no  prospect  of  any  financial  re- 
muneration, young  men  could  scarcely  be  expected  to  take 
a  full  course  of  theological  training  as  is  the  present  custom 
the  youngest  ministers,  Rev.  O.  S.  Kriebel,  being  a  grad- 
uate of  Oberlin  University  and  Theological  Seminary,  and 
Rev.  E.  E.  S.  Johnson,  of  Princeton  University  and  the 
Hartford  Theological  Seminary.  The  ministers  were  elected 
by  the  male  members  of  the  church  by  ballot  and  were 
expected  to  assume  duty  at  once.  They  served  for  a 
period  of  several  years  as  "  Licentiates,"  or  *■'■  Lehr-Can- 
didaten"  before  they  were  made  full  ministers.  The  aver- 
age of  the  ages  of  these  candidates  at  their  final  election 
from  first  to  last  is  44  years.  Good  results  were  ob- 
tained, but  it  would  be  rash  to  say  that  the  best  possible 
results  can  be  obtained  by  such  methods.  On  account  of 
the  rural  type  of  membership  the  ministers  were  in  nearly 
every  case  farmers  who  followed  such  worldly  vocation  in 
connection  with  their  pastoral  duties. 

Though  these  servants  of  God  had  not  studied  in  the 
theological  schools  and  did  not  receive  pay  in  dollars  and 
dimes  for  their  labors  it  would  be  unjust  to  think  of  them 
as  weak,  unlearned,  unsuccessful  preachers.  Reverend 
John  Schultz  (1772-1827),  who  had  been  brought  up  under 
these  circumstances  and  who,  while  toiling  as  a  farmer, 
served  his  church  very  acceptably  as  a  minister,  in  trans- 
mitting a  sketch  of  the  Schwenkfelders,  wrote  a  letter  to 
Pastor  Plitt,  of  Philadelphia,  1820,  that  called  forth  these 
words  :  "  This  letter  seems  to  be  filled  with  such  a  spirit 
of  love  and  moderation  that  John  the  beloved  disciple  might 
accept  it  as  his  own.     In  orthography  and  the  simple  but 


86  The  Pennsylvania- German  Society. 

strong  and  pure  old  German  style,  the  writer  surpasses 
many  of  our  present  young  ministers.  We  are  told  that 
this  man,  although  a  farmer,  has  devoted  considerable 
attention  to  theological  knowledge  and  has  attended  a 
Latin  school."^  Of  Christopher  Schultz,  Jr.  (1777-1853), 
Rev.  C.  Z.  Weiser  had  this  to  say:  "Tall,  venerable, 
talented,  self-educated  and  pious,  he  won  their  esteem 
and  love  as  well  as  the  good-will  of  the  surrounding 
Church  membership.*  *  *  Through  him  more  especially, 
had  the  intercourse  and  fellowship  with  the  Reformed  and 
Lutheran  congregations  become  intimate.  At  well-nigh 
every  funeral  occasion,  the  Schwenkfelder  pastor  Schultz 
was  invited  to  officiate  at  the  house  of  mourning.  So  far 
indeed  had  he  gradually  and  quietly  ingratiated  himself 
into  the  love  and  esteem  of  the  Reformed  congregations 
especially  that  during  a  vacancy  occurring  in  the  history 
of  one  of  the  latter,  through  the  pastor's  death  it  was  seri- 
ously proposed  to  employ  Pastor  Schultz  as  a  supply  until 
a  pastor  of  their  own  should  be  elected."^ 

The  Diaconate.  —  According  to  the  constitutional  pro- 
vision, at  a  conference  held  November  11,  1782,  it  was 
agreed  to  elect  four  deacons,  two  for  each  district,  and  a 
committee  was  appointed  to  draw  up  regulations  for  said 
office.  At  the  next  conference  the  following  report  of  the 
committee  was  adopted  :  "(i)  In  each  district  two  per- 
sons shall  be  elected  as  deacons.  (2)  The  main  rule  for 
the  guidance  of  the  deacons  shall  be  the  ten  command- 
ments. (3)  Attention  must  be  paid  by  said  deacons  to  all 
classes,  the  young  and  the  old,  alike.  (4)  In  case  of  com- 
plaint by  members,  the  deacons  must  see  that  the  com- 
plainants   themselves    fulfill  their    duties.     (5)  They    are 

'  Hosensack  Academy. 
''■Mercersburg  Review^  July,  1870. 


Incorporation.  87 

not  to  give  judgment  in  any  case  until  they  have  heard 
both  sides  of  the  case.  (6)  The  deacons  are  to  be  no 
respecters  of  persons.  (7)  Offenses  of  a  private  nature 
should  be  adjusted  as  quietly  as  possible. 

At  the  fall  conference,  1798,  it  was  agreed  that  three 
deacons  instead  of  two,  should  be  elected  for  each  district 
and  that  the  oldest  in  office  should  be  ineligible  for  one  year. 
The  latter  provision  was  cancelled  in  1803.  The  expected 
happened  and  the  burden  of  the  work  was  thrown  upon  a 
few  members  who  were  reelected  from  year  to  year.  On 
account  of  the  frequent  reelection  of  the  same  officers,  a 
rule  was  adopted  in  1857  by  which  a  deacon  could  not  be 
his  own  successor.  The  spirit  of  the  rule  was  carried  still 
farther  by  a  resolution  of  1888  according  to  which  a 
deacon  at  the  close  of  his  term  of  office  is  ineligible  for 
three  years.  The  deacons  are  the  regular  channels  for  at- 
tending to  the  temporal  affairs  of  the  church,  and  are  set 
as  watchers  to  keep  guard  over  the  lives  of  the  members. 

Incorporation.  — The  school  trustees  held  the  property 
used  by  the  Schwenkfelders  in  the  furtherance  of  their 
educational  enterprise  and  naturally  became  the  custodians 
of  the  property  when  they  began  to  build  houses  of  wor- 
ship. When  in  1838  the  Flinn  will  contest  was  forced  on 
the  Society  or  more  particularly  on  the  "  Charity  Fund," 
the  argument  was  used  that  no  such  body  as  the  "  Society 
of  Schwenkfelders  "  legally  existed  and  that  therefore  all 
bequests  to  the  said  fund  were  null  and  void.  The  de- 
fense was  that  such  society  had  existed  for  a  hundred 
years  and  that  they  were  well  known  and  the  only  body 
known  by  that  name.  To  remedy  the  defect  and  insure  a 
legal  holding  and  transferring  of  property,  the  trustees  and 
treasurers  of  the  Charity  and  the  Literary  Funds  were  in- 
corporated under  the  style  and  title  of  "  The  Managers  of 


88  The  Pennsylvania- German  Society. 

the  Literary  and  Charitable  Funds  of  the  Society  of 
•Schwenkfelders."  The  exigencies  connected  with  mission 
work  developed  a  necessity  of  amending  the  said  char- 
ter which  was  accordingly  done  in  1897  with  the  purpose 
t)f  adapting  it  to  the  changed  conditions  and  requirements. 
The  Charity  Fund.  — The  Schwenkfelders  came  to  this 
country  poor  and  had  to  struggle  for  a  living  but  they  never 
allowed  those  to  suffer  with  whom  they  were  thrown  in 
church  relationship.  The  raising  of  money  to  help  a 
needy  brother  in  1768  occasioned  the  founding  of  the 
Charity  Fund  in  1774.  The  caring  for  the  poor,  the  suf- 
fering and  the  unfortunate  being  naturally  one  of  the 
duties  of  a  Christian  church,  the  fund  was  appropriately 
assumed  by  the  society  at  its  organization.  In  defining 
the  scope  of  the  fund  in  1789,  it  was  agreed  that  the  fund 
was  to  be  devoted  to  the  alleviation  of  the  condition  of  the 
poor  and  to  other  worthy  causes.  In  the  year  1790  each 
district  began  to  elect  its  own  treasurer  of  the  fund  and 
this  has  been  the  case  since.  In  the  spring  conference, 
1815,  it  was  agreed  that  aid  might  and  should  be  given  to 
the  poor  even  if  not  connected  with  the  society.  Ed- 
mund Flinn,  who  died  in  1836,  bequeathed  a  portion  of 
his  estate  to  the  fund.  The  will  being  contested,  litigation 
followed.  A  charter  was  secured  as  stated  above ;  the 
will  was  sustained  and  in  1845  the  fund  finally  received 
the  bequest.  In  1855  it  was  agreed  to  give  money  out  of 
the  fund  to  the  ministers  to  be  distributed  as  they  saw 
fit  among  the  poor  by  way  of  charity.  This  regulation 
happily  did  not  become  a  custom.  By  resolution  it  was 
later  agreed  to  pay  out  of  the  Charity  Fund  the  bills 
for  medical  attendance  on  ministers  and  the  expenses  in- 
curred in  repairing  church  buildings.  The  scope  of  the 
fund  was  widened  still  further  by  the  resolution  of  1890 


THE    FENNSYLV/A/NIA-GERMAN    SOCIETY. 


GROUr    OF    SCHVENt\FELDEF?    MINISTERS. 


JOSHUA    SCHULTZ. 

1808-1892. 

JACOB   MESCHTER. 

1818-1891. 

GEORGE    MESCHTER. 
1S0B-1BS7. 


JOHN    B.    KRIEBEL. 

1341-1882. 

REUBEN    KRIEBEL. 

1820-1890. 

WILLIAM    S.    ANDERS. 

O.    S.    KRIEBEL. 


GEORGE    K.    MESCHTER. 
EDWIN    S.    ANDERS. 

E.    E.    S.    JOHNSON. 


Mission    Work.  89 

according  to  which  the  deacons  have  the  right  to  appro- 
priate the  unexpended  interest  each  year  for  general 
church  purposes.  The  fund  was  raised  by  Sabbath  col- 
lections, bequests,  thank  offerings,  interest,  sale  of  books, 
donations,  etc. 

Board  of  Publication.  — This  board  was  created  at  the 
adoption  of  the  Fornmla  of  Government  and  sprang  out 
of  the  committee  for  the  publication  of  the  Corf  us  Schiuenk- 
feldianorum.  Prior  to  this  the  publication  of  books  was 
attended  to  by  special  committees  appointed  for  such  pur- 
pose. A  few  publications  were  issued  by  private  enter- 
prise, and  later  assumed  by  the  society. 

Missions.  —  In  mission  work  the  Schwenkfelders  as  a 
body  have  proportionately  not  accomplished  the  amount 
of  work  done  by  other  religious  societies.  Poverty,  loca- 
tion and  the  treatment  received  at  the  hands  of  others  may 
in  part  account  for  this.  Neither  have  they  heralded  their 
deeds  abroad  nor  received  credit  for  what  they  did  through 
various  other  denominational  channels.  As  a  body  they 
raised  money  for  Bible  societies,  tract  societies,  educa- 
tional purposes  and  mission  boards  irrespective  of  sectarian 
lines.  As  individuals  they  gave  succor  to  many  a  worthy 
cause  without  letting  the  one  hand  know  what  the  other 
was  doing.  By  the  incorporation  of  the  Mission  Board, 
renewed  impetus  was  given  to  mission  labors,  and  a  chan- 
nel afforded  by  which  the  gifts  of  members  to  such  cause 
may  receive  proper  credit  and  the  whole  effort  be  systema- 
tized. Though  only  called  into  existence  as  late  as  1895, 
the  board  has  already  become  the  arm  for  reaching  out 
and  building  up  the  First  Schwenkfelder  Church  of  Phila- 
delphia, the  first  mission  of  the  church,  organized  De- 
cember, 1898.  It  is  also  conducting  work  in  China,  India 
and  Armenia. 


go  The  Pennsylvania- German  Society. 

Literary  Fund. — The  system  of  schools  inaugurated 
in  1764  became  a  part  of  the  work  of  the  Society.  The 
school  plan  will  be  considered  in  a  subsequent  chapter 
(Chapter  IX.).  By  conference  action  1823,  the  system  was 
placed  directly  in  the  hands  of  the  society,  all  members 
being  eligible  as  trustees  and  having  the  right  of  voting. 
The  fund  was  thereafter  devoted  to  the  repairing  of  the 
school-houses,  the  education  of  poor  children  and  other 
benevolent  purposes.  As  thus  reorganized  the  fund  has 
been  known  in  later  years  as  the  Literary  Fund  devoted 
mainly  to  the  publication  of  books  and  tracts. 

Secret  Societies.  —  In  reference  to  secret  societies,  it  may 
be  in  place  to  remark  that  the  whole  trend  of  the  life  and 
doctrine  of  the  Schwenkfelder  faith  is  opposed  to  the  very 
idea  and  spirit  of  secresy,  to  the  taking  of  all  oaths,  to  the 
unchristian  rules  regulating  their  membership  and  adminis- 
tration of  funds.  At  the  fall  conference,  1820,  in  con- 
formity with  the  spirit  of  the  times  then  prevalent  the 
question  was  raised  "  whether,  on  account  of  the  con- 
tinued spread  of  the  so-called  order  of  Free-Masons,  it 
is  not  necessary  to  indicate  the  sense  of  the  society  in 
reference  to  such  societies  for  the  sake  of  our  mem- 
bers and  our  children."  The  following  resolution  was 
accordingly  adopted  :  "  Since  the  order  of  Free-Masons  is 
clothed  in  mystery  and  in  many  dark,  typical  and  curi- 
ous customs  and  much  that  is  offensive  is  presented  in 
their  processions  and  in  the  bearing  of  their  members,  and 
since  we  are  directed  by  the  Bible  and  the  writings  of  the 
Fathers  away  from  sin  to  our  salvation  and  Saviour,  Jesus 
Christ,  we  must  in  the  highest  degree  disapprove  their 
course  if  any  of  our  members  bind  themselves  by  oaths  to 
such  orders,  and  their  course  must  be  regarded  as  imper- 
tinent behavior  and  we  would  herewith  exhort  all  to  keep 


Freemasonry  Denounced.  91 

aloof  from  the  same  and  on  the  contrary  abide  by  Paul's 
word,  '  mind  not  high  things,  but  condescend  to  men  of  low 
estate.'"  In  185 1  the  following  was  adopted  :  "  Resolved, 
further,  that  it  is  contrary  to  and  against  the  doctrine  and 
confession  of  this  church  that  any  member  should  connect 
himself  with  any  such  order  or  with  any  secret  society  as, 
for  example,  the  Order  of  Free-Masons,  Odd  Fellows  and 
the  like."  After  considerable  discussion  the  General  Con- 
ference of  1897  agreed  on  a  statement  embodying  the 
earlier  position  and  giving  more  explicit  reasons  for  the 
same. 

Marriage  Regulations.  —  The  following  regulations  re- 
lating to  marriage  were  adopted  at  the  fall  conference, 
1783.  (i)  The  contracting  parties  must  both  be  of  our 
own  confession.  (2)  The  consent  of  parents  or  guardians 
on  both  sides  must  be  secured.  (3)  The  groom  is  to  an- 
nounce his  intentions  to  one  of  the  ministers,  who  is  to  in- 
quire whether  conditions  one  and  two  have  been  complied 
with,  whether  both  have  become  members  of  the  society,  and 
whether  they  are  willing  to  help  to  advance  the  interests 
of  the  society.  Ministers  have  the  right  to  refer  the  groom 
to  the  deacon  and  he  to  the  society  if  the  answers  are  not 
satisfactory.  (4)  Such  persons  are  to  be  instructed  in 
Christian  doctrine.  (5)  Bans  shall  be  published.  It  was 
also  resolved  that  in  case  the  bride  did  not  belong  to  the 
society  the  groom  was  to  try  to  persuade  her  to  become  a 
member,  and  if  she  did  not,  the  ministers  were  not  to  per- 
form the  marriage  ceremony.  The  following  year,  at  the 
request  of  the  society,  Christopher  Schultz  drew  up  a  form  of 
betrothal  that  might  be  recommended  to  the  young.  The 
society  was  opposed  to  the  intermarriage  of  those  who  are 
closely  related  and  at  various  times  had  occasion  to  take 
up  cases  for  consideration  where  the  young  failed  to  keep 


92  The  Pennsylvania- Gertnan  Society. 

this  in  mind.  The  rules  and  customs  relating  to  marriage 
and  admission  of  members  so  frequently  led  the  young  to 
put  off  the  joining  of  church  until  they  expected  to  be 
joined  in  marriage  that  the  matter  on  several  occasions 
became  the  subject  of  discussion  in  general  conferences. 
In  1827  the  following  resolution  was  adopted:  "When  a 
person  or  persons  of  our  confession  or  members  of  our  so- 
ciety have  been  married  by  ministers  not  of  our  society  and 
have  afterward  expressed  sorrow  for  such  step  to  a  min- 
ister or  deacon,  it  shall  become  the  duty  of  the  ministers  to 
ask  such  party  in  public  meeting  whether  he  is  still  sorry 
for  such  step,  and  if  a  satisfactory  answer  is  received  such 
party  shall  not  be  excluded  from  membership."  In  185 1 
the  question  of  "  mixed  marriages"  was  again  raised  and 
it  was  resolved  that,  according  to  the  doctrines  maintained 
by  the  society,  both  parties  ought  to  belong  to  the  same 
faith.  In  1866  it  was  agreed  to  permit  the  performance  of 
the  marriage  ceremony  by  ministers  without  publishing  the 
bans,  if  one  or  both  parties  did  not  belong  to  the  society, 
but  to  require  the  same  in  all  other  cases.  The  custom  be- 
came a  dead  letter  without  conference  action  about  the 
year  1877.  The  restrictions  and  regulations  thus  imposed 
at  various  times  were  gradually  moderated  or  abandoned, 
so  that  many  became  a  dead  letter  long  before  the  revision 
of  1897. 

Church  Discipline. — The  very  object  of  the  organiza- 
tion included  the  idea  of  discipline  and  the  members  would 
have  been  grossly  derelict  in  their  professed  purposes  as  a 
society  if  they  had  paid  no  attention  to  the  faults  of  their 
erring  brethren.  In  1784  it  was  resolved  that  members 
who  were  guilty  of  such  excesses  or  vices  as  dancing, 
swearing,  drinking,  gambling,  etc.,  were  to  be  reproved 
publicly  and  were  to  make  public  confession  that  they  had 


Church  Discipline.  93 

done  wrong,  that  they  were  sorry  for  the  same,  that  they 
asked  pardon  and  would  promise  to  avoid  such  sins  in  the 
future.  In  1797  it  was  agreed  that  members  who  failed  to 
pay  their  debts  excluded  themselves  by  their  own  conduct 
from  the  rights  of  membership.  Hence  they  could  be 
treated  as  non-members  and  might  be  sued  at  law.  The 
church  had  its  cases  of  discipline  like  other  churches  ;  the 
members  erred  in  their  ways  as  do  those  of  other  confes- 
sions. Many  of  these  failings  have  been  covered  by  the 
mantle  of  the  past  and  the  charitable  hearts  of  the  mem- 
bers blotted  out  the  record  of  these  shortcomings  by  a 
resolution  adopted  in  1805,  that  all  reference  in  the  min- 
utes to  former  cases  of  discipline  was  to  be  stricken  out 
and  that  in  future  such  cases  were  not  to  be  recorded. 
Work  of  a  disciplinary  character  by  deacons  was  thus  con- 
signed 10  oblivion  and  can  not  be  referred  to  for  prec- 
edence. Later  on,  however,  the  secretaries  made  such 
direct  reference  in  their  minutes  to  persons  involved  in 
discipline  that  it  becomes  easy  to  identify  the  parties  under 
consideration.  Cases  of  drunkenness,  strife  between  mem- 
bers, improper  use  of  money,  unjust  settlement  of  estates, 
fraud,  etc.,  are  noted  in  the  minutes  and  in  a  few  instances 
were  continued  from  conference  to  conference.  In  these 
cases  the  action  was  calm,  firm,  charitable,  deliberate.  As 
a  final  resort  after  the  failure  of  efforts  at  redemption, 
membership  was  cancelled.  If  those  whose  names  were 
thus  cancelled  afterwards  mended  their  ways,  they  were 
on  proper  expressions  of  penitence  and  confession  received 
again.  In  the  year  1846  the  question  was  raised  whether 
it  would  not  be  proper  to  substitute  confession  in  conference 
for  confession  in  open  meeting  before  the  society  which 
had  been  the  custom  since  1784  but  no  change  was  effected. 
In  1852,  however,  a  modification  was  brought  about.     It 


94  The  Pennsylvania- German  Society. 

was  then  unanimously  resolved  that,  in  cases  of  discipline 
where  the  transgression  does  not  bring  a  stain  upon  the 
whole  society,  and  the  transgressor  after  due  exhortation 
professes  proper  penitence  for  his  errors,  no  public  confes- 
sion should  be  required,  but  that  if  on  account  of  the  posi- 
tion assumed  by  the  transgressor  the  matter  had  to  be 
brought  before  the  conference,  public  confession  should  be 
required.  This  regulation  was  amended  in  1865  so  that 
public  announcement  was  to  be  made  in  case  of  private 
confession.  The  deacons  were  the  ordinary  channel 
through  which  the  church  administered  its  cases  of  disci- 
pline. At  times  committees  were  appointed  to  hear  and 
adjust  cases  or  report  the  same  to  conference. 

Chu7'ch  Business. — In  the  transaction  of  business  as  a 
society,  no  distinction  was  or  is  made  by  Schwenkfel- 
ders,  between  minister  and  layman,  all  having  equal  rights 
and  privileges.  Regular  general  conferences  have  always 
been  held  twice  each  year  and  special  conferences  as  occa- 
sion required.  District  conferences  met  from  time  to 
time  but  seemingly  no  clear  limitation  of  rights  was  made 
between  the  general  and  district  conference.  A  moderator 
and  a  secretary  for  each  district  were  elected  at  the  general 
conference  who  usually,  through  reelection,  served  many 
years  in  succession.  The  conferences  were  and  are  purely 
democratic  in  theory,  but  in  practice  neither  the  young 
male  nor  the  female  members  seemingly  took  any  great 
part  in  the  deliberations,  during  the  early  days  of  the 
organization.  In  the  early  minutes  one  reads  that  the 
Uaus-vdter  met  and  in  the  Constitution  and  By-Laws 
of  185 1  that  the  ministers  are  to  be  elected  by  the  Haus- 
vdter.  This  term  should  mean  head  of  a  house,  but  it 
seems  to  have  been  used  in  the  sense  of  male  mem- 
bers.    It  was  made  to  mean  members  by  the  Constitution 


Schwenkfeldcr  Costume.  95 

and  By-Laws  of  1851  and  male  members  by  the  English 
translation  of  the  same  in  1888.  By  the  Formula  of  1898 
all  members  have  equal  rights  and  privileges.  With  re- 
spect to  the  transaction  of  business  the  following  items 
may  be  noted.  In  1782  it  was  agreed  that  it  should  be 
the  duty  of  members  to  report  to  the  secretary  all  subjects 
that  they  wished  to  have  discussed  at  conference.  Voting 
by  ballot  was  agreed  upon  in  1783  with  the  proviso  that 
the  voting  was  to  be  secret  and  that  those  who  were  not  in 
attendance  at  any  particular  conference  might  send  their 
1  allots.  A  resolution  was  adopted  calling  upon  the  mod- 
erator to  make  an  address  appropriate  to  the  occasion,  a  sum- 
mary of  which  was  to  be  inserted  in  the  minutes.  In  1815 
a  question  arose  concerning  the  taking  of  testimony  from 
parties  who  were  not  members  of  the  society.  It  was 
agreed  that  such  taking  of  testimony  should  be  permissible 
but  that  such  witnesses  should  not  be  admitted  to  the  con- 
ference. At  the  conference  in  October,  1840,  the  custom  of 
opening  the  session  with  prayer  was  made  by  resolution  the 
established  rule.  At  the  fall  conference,  1849,  ^^  ques- 
tion was  raised  whether  the  members  were  sufficiently  ac- 
quainted with  the  constitution  and  regulations  of  the  society 
and  whether  some  persons  might  perhaps  not  have  failed 
to  become  members  through  lack  of  such  information. 
Accordingly,  Reverend  Joshua  Schultz  was  authorized  to 
prepare  for  publication  a  summary  of  the  laws  and  regula- 
tions in  force  which  was  published  under  the  title.  Consti- 
tution and  By-Laws  of  the  Schwenkf cider  Society^  18^1. 
Clothing. — The  subject  of  clothing  is  a  comparatively 
wide  one  and  affords  interesting  material.  The  matter 
has  been  frequently  discussed  in  public  and  in  private, 
and  has  led  to  many  a  misunderstanding  and  censorious 
word.     Individuals  have  run  to  extremes,  but  the  confer- 


^6  The  Pen7isylvania- German  Society. 

ences  have  as  a  rule  been  moderate  in  expression  of 
opinion.  In  1786  the  following  regulations  were  made 
with  respect  to  clothing  :  (i)  To  discountenance  all  new 
modes,  goods  and  styles  that  evidently  only  serve  to  clothe 
oneself  in  an  extravagant  and  shameless  manner  to  draw 
attention  and  to  cultiv.ate  pride.  (2)  To  permit  members 
to  use  such  styles  in  their  clothing  as  are  used  generally 
by  the  good  people  of  the  community,  forbidding  unjust 
criticism  of  those  who  saw  fit  to  adopt  what  all  the  com- 
mon people  of  the  vicinity  were  using.  (3)  To  encourage 
the  use  of  home-made  clothing,  of  what  members  can 
raise  and  prepare  for  themselves.  In  1842,  after  consid- 
erable discussion,  the  rules  as  given  in  the  Constitution  and 
By-Laws  oj"  i8ji,  were  adopted  as  follows:  '*  In  order 
that  with  the  mode  of  dress  there  may  be  no  abuse  prac- 
ticed, it  must  be  (i)  comfortable,  protecting  both  the  body 
and  the  health,  (2)  it  must  be  adapted  to  prevent  evil  desires, 
that  those  members  are  thereby  covered  whose  sight  might 
stir  up  impure  desires.  It  may  (3)  be  suitable  to  one's 
condition,  that  is,  one  may  wear  such  clothing  as  other 
Christian  and  reasonable  people  of  our  condition,  which 
best  indicate  and  promote  purity  and  humility.  A  Chris- 
tian may  (4)  according  to  the  circumstances  of  the  times 
arrange  his  clothing,  that  he  may  for  example  go  forth 
on  a  festival  day  different  than  upon  a  time  of  mourning. 
(5)  He  may  also  adapt  himself  to  the  custom  of  the  time 
and  place  when  such  custom  does  not  contain  in  itself 
anything  that  is  sinful  and  does  not  conflict  with  pro- 
priety of  conduct  and  decency,  and  whilst  he  does  not 
place  any  holiness  in  this  that  he  wears  the  old  style  of 
clothing,  he  nevertheless  should  guard  against,  at  the  same 
time,  imitating  all  the  new  styles  and  much  less  will  he 
make  it  his  business  to  introduce  new  styles.  They  fol- 
lowed Pope's  famous  rule  : 


SchwenJif elder  Calligraphy 


\\\\\    iiiiii     mill  J* .ill    iiiuiij"'''".  J!" L_ ''>'■'    """w    iiwmii  iii-Lii-j^..,-... 


t)fi<V  f!f iif^/  .^(iljtir  "5d'  ^)i#njn)fn  ^*fi/ 


y>'i>  .^ff/  '^yt^T^w^ ^vic,: !>;/, 


i^Jr^^^. 


PvN^p  ;»Jr((t  {;n*f  IjcK  .>(!  |iriij)<'ii  miO  |cj)mcr 


LRfi 


•Vrmirf^atri 


mat 


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kx 


JS^CiT 


V^^^^j 


SPECIMEN   OF   SCHWENKFEI.DER   PEN   WORK,    ORIGINAL   IN    FOUR   COLORS. 


98  The  Pennsylvania- German  Society. 

"  In  words,  as  fashions,  the  same  rule  will  hold  ; 
Alike  fantastic,  if  too  new  of  old  ; 
Be  not  the  first  by  whom  the  new  are  tried. 
Nor  yet  the  last  to  lay  the  old  aside." 

It  is  probable  that  no  attempt  was  at  any  time  made  to 
prescribe  any  religious  garb  or  dress  for  the  members, 
although  custom  had  considerable  influence  over  them 
even  in  this  respect,  and  they  seemingly  were  known  by 
their  clothing. 

Memorial  Day.  —  At  the  organization  in  1782,  the  offi- 
ciating at  memorial  days,  observed  since  1734,  was  by  vote 
made  a  regular  duty  of  the  ministers,  the  distinctive  reli- 
gious tone  of  the  services  being  thus  preserved.  Since 
1 791  the  exercises  with  one  exception  have  been  held  al- 
ternately in  the  meeting  houses  in  the  so-called  Upper  and 
Lower  districts,  on  the  twenty-fourth  of  September  or  on 
the  twenty-fifth,  if  the  twenty-fourth  fell  on  Sunday.  On 
account  of  having  forenoon  and  afternoon  sessions,  pro- 
vision for  dinner  at  the  house  of  worship  has  been  made  each 
year,  presumably  from  the  earliest  observance  of  the  day, 
so  that  worshippers  would  not  be  compelled  to  return  to 
their  homes  for  the  noonday  meal.  After  dismission  the 
benches  were  covered  with  pure  white  linen,  and  on  the 
table  thus  hurriedly  prepared  a  simple  repast  of  bread, 
butter  and  apple  butter  was  soon  spread  and  served,  each 
helping  himself  with  due  decorum,  and  always  heartily 
enjoyed.  The  exercises  on  these  days  have  uniformly 
been  of  a  devotional  nature.  The  singing  of  hymns,  the 
offering  of  prayers,  the  delivery  of  one  or  more  sermons, 
the  recounting  of  the  cause  of  the  observance  of  the  day 
have  always  been  a  part  of  the  program.  In  recent  years 
there  has  been  a  tendency  to  widen  the  scope  and  influence 
of  the  day  by  trying  to  secure  for  it  a  more  general  attend- 
ance by  descsendants  irrepective  of  church  connections. 


Use  of  the  Sacraments.  99 

The  Sacraments.  —  A  few  words  seem  in  place  in  this 
connection  bearing  on  the  use  or  non-use  of  the  sacra- 
ments among  the  Schwenkfelders.  In  Europe  they  did 
not  celebrate  the  sacraments  because  the  church  and  the 
state  would  not  allow  them.  Immediately  after  the  migration 
they  were  in  such  a  disorganized  condition  that  the  institu- 
tion of  such  an  important  step  could  not  be  thought  of. 
The  lack  of  complete  organization  before  1782  was  re- 
garded a  valid  reason  for  not  instituting  the  sacraments. 
This  non-use  had  become  a  fixed  and  deeply-rooted  habit 
at  the  time  of  the  organization,  the  influence  of  which  has 
scarcely  disappeared  at  the  present  day.  The  position  of 
the  people  on  this  subject  at  the  time'^of  the  organization 
is  indicated  by  the  following  facts.  Christopher  Schultz 
issued  the  first  edition  of  his  catechism  in  1763.  In  revis- 
ing it  he  had  the  advice  of  all  the  Schwenkfelders  and  the 
advantage  of  the  use  of  it  for  twenty  years.  In  the  second 
edition,  issued  1784,  he  answered  affirmatively  the  follow- 
ing question,  not  found  in  the  first  edition  :  Does  baptism, 
therefore,  belong  to  the  proper  service  of  the  gospel?  In 
his  Compendium  or  Glaubcnslchre^  Christopher  Schultz, 
at  the  close  of  the  discussion  of  the  sacraments  of  the 
New  Testament,  says:  "We  should  carefully  guard  our- 
selves against  all  abuse  of  this  sacred  institution  in  order 
that  we  may  not  fall  under  the  condemnation  of  the  Lord. 
Inattention  to  the  same  must  be  displeasing  to  the  Lord 
and  contrary  to  His  will  of  love,  since  He  well  knew  what 
is  good  and  wholesome  for  us  and  serviceable  to  the  in- 
crease of  His  Kingdom  and  Christian  Communion."  Di- 
rectly after  the  organization  in  1782,  the  ministers  were 
instructed  to  preach  several  sermons  each  year  on  the  sac- 
raments. In  response  to  this,  Christopher  Kriebel  preached 
a  series  of  twenty  sermons,  two  each  year,  on  Baptism  and 


lOO  The  Pennsylvania- German  Society. 

the  Lord's  Supper.  George  Kriebel  preached  a  like  series 
and  Christopher  Schultz  also  began  a  series.  John  Schultz 
wrote  a  letter  which  was  published  in  a  German  paper  of 
the  year  1820,  from  which  the  following  words  are  quoted  : 
*'  That  the  sacraments  are  not  outwardly  observed  results 
mainly  from  the  cause  that  our  forefathers  in  Germany  did 
not  have  the  freedom  to  gather  a  church  and  observe  them 
as  they  deemed  proper.  On  their  grievous  journey  from 
Silesia  to  Saxony  and  thence  across  Holland  and  the  sea 
and  during  the  first  years  in  this  country,  the  subject  was 
not  to  be  thought  of.  They  thus  had  to  work  their  way 
through  for  more  than  200  years  without  such  holy  ser- 
vices. At  their  closer  organization  in  1782,  omission  had 
become  custom  that  has  continued  since,  but  we  flatter  our- 
selves with  the  hope  that  such  things  may  in  the  future  not 
be  left  out  of  consideration."  About  the  year  1840,  a  con- 
siderable discussion  arose  about  the  institution  of  the  sac- 
raments which  finally  led  to  the  resolution  that  the  minis- 
ters should  have  the  right  to  baptize  and  hold  communion 
with  all  the  believers  (members)  who  sincerely  desired  the 
same.  During  the  years  1856-58,  another  period  of  dis- 
cussion manifested  itself,  the  outcome  of  which  was  that 
the  ministers  were  appointed  a  committee  to  draw  up  rules 
and  regulations  for  the  proper  observance  of  the  sacra- 
ments. The  committee  met,  and  after  some  effort,  com- 
promised on  a  report,  and  then  the  matter  came  to  a  rest 
again.  Agitation  started  up  anew  about  the  year  1874, 
which  led  to  the  publishing  of  the  committee  report  of 
1858  and  of  two  sermons  by  Weiss  and  Hoffman  and 
finally  resulted  in  the  institution  of  the  sacraments  in  the 
Lower  District  at  the  private  house  of  Anthony  K.  Heebner 
in  1877.  A  wave  of  earnest  discussion,  argument  and  re- 
crimination followed  which  occasioned  the  appointment  of 


Present  Modes  of  Activity.  loi 

a  compromise  committee  in  1888.  This  committee  went 
to  work,  toiled  on  and  finally  made  its  report,  which  was 
adopted  and  printed  in  1894.  By  virtue  of  the  committee 
report,  opportunity  was  given  in  the  Upper  District  for  bap- 
tism and  communion  and  has  been  regularly  continued 
since.  The  charge  has  often  been  made  that  the  Schwenk- 
felders  are  opposed  to  the  sacraments,  but  the  charge  can 
not  be  substantiated.  The  published  writings,  the  many 
unpublished  manuscripts,  the  action  of  conferences,  veri- 
fied traditions,  are  all  evidence  to  the  contrary.  Many  a 
vigorous  protest  may  be  found  against  the  abuse  of  the 
sacraments  in  these  references,  but  against  the  proper  use 
thereof  none  whatever.  The  fact  is  not  overlooked  that 
all  along  individuals  have  maintained  the  views  of  the 
Friends  about  the  use  of  externals,  but  these  never  repre- 
sented the  consensus  of  opinion  of  their  fellow-members 
as  a  body. 

It  will  not  be  amiss  to  close  this  chapter  by  quoting  the 
following  from  a  recent  tract : 

"Present  Modes  of  Activity. 

"I.  The  ministry  —  jealously  guarded  as  to  purity  of 
doctrine  of  incumbents  by  the  members  of  the  churches. 

*'  2.  Public  worship  —  evangelical,  simple,  flexible  as  to 
time  and  manner. 

"3.  Sunday-schools  —  maintained  since  the  migration  in 

1734- 

"4.  Catechetical  instruction  —  adapted  to  train  the  young 

in  the  doctrines  of  the  church. 

**  5.  Charity  Fund  —  founded  in  1774,  through  which  the 
church  has  always  cared  for  its  unfortunate  members. 

"6.  Perkiomen  Seminary  —  a  preparatory  school  for 
both  sexes. 


I02 


The  Pennsylvania- German  Society. 


"7.   Board  of  Missions  — incorporated  in  1895. 

"8.  Board  of  Publication  —  the  publishing  medium,  con- 
ducting the  work  on  the  Corpus  Schwenkfeldianoru^n. 

"9.  Ladies'  Aid  Societies  —  organized  to  direct  and 
undertake  certain  lines  of  charitable  work. 

"10.  Christian  Endeavor  Societies  —  working  in  har- 
mony with  the  United  Society." 


CHAPTER  VIII. 


The    Relation    Between  the  Schwenkfelders'^and 
zinzendorf  in  pennsylvania. 

Y  object  in  this  chapter  will 
i^  be  to  summarize  the  chief 
items  of  interest  relating 
to  the  connection  between 
Count  Zinzendorf  as  their 
former  friend  in  need  and 
the  Schwenkfelders  after 
their  migration  in  1734. 
The  earlier  experiences 
have  been  touched  upon  in 
a  different  connection.  For  a  discussion  of  the  general 
development  of  Moravian  church  life  in  America,  the 
kind  reader  is  referred  to  special  books  on  the  subject. 

In  Memorials  of  the  Moravian  Churchy  Vol.  I.,  page 
157,  the  statement  is  made  that  "  George  Bonisch,  Christo- 
pher Baus  and  Christopher  Wiegner  arrived  at  Philadel- 
phia on  the  St.  Andrew,  Captain  Stedman,  September  22, 
1734.  This  vessel  brought  the  Schwenkfelders  whom 
Zinzendorf  had  received  at  Berthelsdorf,  on  their  banish- 

(103) 


104  '^^^'^  Pennsylvania-German  Society. 

ment  from  Silesia.  Bonisch  accompanied  them  to  Penn- 
sylvania at  their  request  and  during  their  stay  resided  at 
Wiegner's."  These  are  the  three  to  whom  Cranz  refers 
in  his  history  in  these  words  :  "  Three  brothers  were  sent 
with  them  (the  Schwenkfelders)  who  at  the  request  of 
them  were  to  aid  in  caring  for  the  temporal  and  spiritual 
welfare  of  the  Schwenkfelders."  Recognition  of  such  a 
mission  and  request  in  the  writings  of  the  Schwenkfelders 
has  not  been  brought  to  light.  Augustus  Gottlieb  Span- 
genberg,  A.M.,  of  the  University  of  Jena,  later  Bishop  of 
the  Moravian  Church,  than  whom  Count  Zinzendorf  alone 
stood  higher  in  the  councils  of  the  Moravian  Church,  had 
expected  to  accompany  the  Schwenkfelders  because  he 
had  noticed  in  them  an  earnest  Christian  spirit,  but  when 
knowledge  came  that  they  were  to  go  to  Pennsylvania  and 
not  to  Georgia  as  he  himself  had  hoped,  Spangenberg 
was  delegated  to  conduct  a  company  of  Moravian  emigrants 
to  Georgia.  While  Schwenkfelders  were  founding  new 
homes  in  Pennsylvania,  Spangenberg  was  caring  for  the 
band  of  Moravian  immigrants  who  had  arrived  in  Savan- 
nah, March,  1735.  After  he  had  established  the  in- 
fant colony  and  had  been  ordained  a  presbyter  of  the 
Moravian  Church  by  Bishop  Nitschman  who  had  recently 
arrived  in  the  colony  of  Georgia,  he  left  March  15,  1736, 
with  letters  of  recommendation  from  Governor  Oglethorpe 
to  Thomas  Penn  to  take  up  his  mission  proper  in  Pennsyl- 
vania. Christopher  Wiegner  must  have  been  expecting 
him  on  his  farm  at  Towamencin  about  this  time.  He 
wrote  in  his  diary,  April  3  :  "I  came  home  tired  from 
plowing  but  said  that  if  Spangenberg  were  in  the  city,  I 
would  go  that  night  to  see  him."  The  next  day  Wiegner 
said  he  must  come.  Hardly  had  he  said  this  when  in 
stepped  Spangenberg  and  surprised  them   as  the   family 


THE    FENNSYLVA/NIA-GERHAN    SOCIETY. 


5CHWENKFELDER    GRAVEYARD    AT    CHESTNUT    HILL. 


Bishof  David  Nitchman.  105 

sat  at  the  dinner  table.  From  this  time  on  until  his  recall 
to  Europe  in  1739  he  made  his  home  with  Wiegner,  going 
away  of  course  for  longer  and  shorter  periods  on  account 
of  his  duties  as  demands  came  upon  him. 

The  object  of  the  coming  of  Spangenberg,  as  of 
Wiegner,  Bans  and  Bonisch,  was  in  part  at  least  to  bring 
the  Schwenkfelders  over  to  the  Moravian  faith.  On  the 
day  following  his  arrival  he  wrote:  "I  will  visit  the 
people,  offer  them  my  peace,  place  myself  at  their  service, 
hear,  ask  and  answer  as  it  may  please  them,  wishing  that 
God  Himself  may  open  a  door."  During  his  stay  he  would, 
as  opportunity  presented  itself,  take  part  in  the  operations 
of  the  farm.  Reichel  says:  "He  took  many  practical 
lessons  in  ploughing,  threshing  and  other  agricultural  ele- 
ments, by  which  he  became  well  qualified  for  future  use- 
fulness in  the  economies  of  Bethlehem  and  Nazareth."  To 
his  dying  day  he  looked  back  with  pleasure  to  the  happy 
and  peaceful  days  spent  on  the  Wiegner  farm.  Wiegner 
makes  many  references  to  these  experiences  to  which  space 
permits  but  fragmentary  reference. 

On  the  fifth  of  May,  1736,  Bishop  David  Nitschman 
arrived  and  on  the  eighth  went  to  "  Cainstook  "  accom- 
panied by  Spangenberg.  The  Bishop  left  again  on  the 
twenty-second  of  May.  About  the  middle  of  the  month 
Spangenberg  wrote  that  the  Schwenkfelders  who  lived 
greatl}'^  scattered  received  him  m  love  on  his  visits  and  that 
he  hoped  that  many  might  be  converted.  Wiegner  relates 
that  they  were  at  Kriebel's  (probably  Melchior  Kriebel's) 
on  the  twentieth  of  June,  1736,  and  that  Spangenberg 
spoke  and  Bonisch  prayed.  George  Weiss  soon  called 
at  their  home  and  remonstrated  with  them  saying  that  "  we 
disturbed  them  and  that  we  should  let  them  alone,  that 
they  would  leave  us  alone,  that  w.e  were  not  agreed  and 


io6  The  Pennsylvania- German  Society. 

that  he  knew  of  many  people  who  prayed  and  acted  very 
earnestly  of  whom  terrible  things  were  heard  later ;  and 
that  it  was  in  vain  to  unite  the  Schwenkfelders  and  the  Mora- 
vians. *  *  *  Because  Spangenberg  spoke  very  mildly 
and  peaceably  we  would  have  to  wait  a  few  years  to  see 
whether  he  would  continue  thus."  On  the  ninth  of  July, 
Weiss  made  a  call  at  Wiegner's  and  had  an  extended 
discussion  of  doctrinal  points  with  Spangenberg  and 
they  seem  to  have  been  quite  friendly.  The  next  day 
Spangenberg  left  for  St.  Thomas  deputized  by  Nitsch- 
man  to  hold  a  visitation.  Thus  he  was  called  away  from 
his  work  for  a  season.  He  returned  in  November,  fol- 
lowing. 

In  February,  1737,  George  Neisser  arrived  at  Wiegner's. 
He  had  been  deputized  by  the  brethren  in  Georgia  to 
report  their  distress  to  Spangenberg  and  to  urge  him  to 
repair  to  London  to  lay  their  grievances  before  the 
"  Trustees  for  the  Colony  of  Georgia."  Wiegner  relates 
that  he  and  Spangenberg  early  in  March  discussed  the 
advisability  of  visiting  Georgia,  that  in  April  after  consulta- 
tion, the  Schwenkfelders  advised  his  going,  upon  which  he 
made  up  his  mind  to  go.  On  the  twenty-ninth  of  April, 
Weiss  and  Spangenberg  started  afoot  for  Germantown, 
arriving  there  about  midnight.  Wiegner  records  thanks 
for  the  blessed  communion  on  the  way.  In  May,  Spangen- 
berg sailed  for  Georgia  accompanied  by  John  Eckstein. 
In  August,  Wiegner  wrote  a  letter  to  Count  Zinzendorf  in 
which  he  related  Spangenberg's  affairs  and  requested 
instruction  concerning  certain  letters  and  the  standing  of 
George  Bonisch,  since  it  was  good  neither  for  him  nor 
for  the  others  that  he  did  not  know  how  long  he  was  to 
stay.  He  also  spoke  of  the  kind  reception  given  to 
Spangenberg  by  the  Schwenkfelders. 


Spangenberg^s  Return.  107 

Spangenberg  returned  from  Georgia  to  Wiegner's  early 
in  September,  1737.  In  December  the  two  went  to  Phil- 
adelphia. They  seem  to  have  had  a  warm  discussion, 
Spangenberg  wanting  to  start  special  regulations  in  exter- 
nal matters,  like  eating,  sleeping  and  clothing.  Wiegner 
wrote:  "God  gave  grace  that  we  could  understand  each 
other,  and  Spangenberg  made  promises  and  we  loved  each 
other  and  rejoiced  together."  On  the  thirtieth  of  Decem- 
ber Wiegner  entered  this  interesting  note  in  his  diary  : 
"  Started  on  our  journey.  Neither  of  us  felt  well,  yet  we 
had  a  prompting  towards  such  a  journey.  The  Lord  made 
all  things  work  together  for  the  best.  Until  we  came  to 
the  Swamp,  we  were  in  great  distress  spiritually.  We 
sang  and  prayed  in  our  misery  and  comforted  eath  other 
and  the  grace  of  love  and  communion  manifested  itself 
strongly  on  the  whole  journey."  On  the  seventh  of  Janu- 
ary they  came  back  from  the  visit  in  blessing  and  peace. 
It  is  probably  with  reference  to  this  trip  that  George  Neisser 
says  :  '*  Spangenberg  and  Christopher  Wiegner  at  one  time 
made  a  visitation  to  Falckner  Swamp,  Oley  and  Cones- 
toga  among  the  Ephrata  brethren  and  among  the  so-called 
'  New-mooners '  in  Conestoga  Swamp  with  John  Zimmer- 
man and  found  many  upright  souls,  but  greatly  divided 
with  respect  to  theories  and  non-essentials." 

Wiegner  made  the  following  entry  in  his  diary  January 
19,  1738:  "Attended  services  at  M.  Kriebel's.  George 
Weiss  said  the  Bible  was  a  sealed  book  and  was  only  for 
the  s?cinis  [Heilig-recofjwiandirte)  —  hence  his  1,500  hymns 
and  other  literature.  This  affected  me  so  much  that  I 
made  a  loud  exclamation  and  Br.  Sp.  (Brother  Spangen- 
berg) did  the  same  which  stirred  up  considerable  uproar. 
George  Weiss  wrote  a  letter  to  which  we  replied  again." 
This  stormy  meeting  meant  much.     An  extensive  corre- 


io8  The  Pennsylvania- German  Society. 

spondence  followed.  It  was  more  than  a  mere  clashing  be- 
tween Weiss  and  Spangenberg.  It  was  rather  a  clashing 
between  two  great  systems  of  thought  —  Weiss  defending 
Casper  Schwenkfeld  and  Spangenberg  representing  Zin- 
zendorf,  a  professed  adherent  of  the  Lutheran  faith,  al- 
though the  great  defender  of  the  Moravians.  The  fol- 
lowing April  Wiegner  wrote:  *' George  Weiss  rejects 
us,"  and  Spangenberg  wrote  :  "The  Schwenkf elders  form 
themselves  wholly  into  a  sect  and  completely  close  them- 
selves against  all  others  who  do  not  approve  of  their 
cause,  whereby  consciences  are  bound  and  the  spirit  of 
Christ  is  quenched.  I  can  reject  no  brother  nor  separate 
myself  from  him  to  win  others  and  be  a  means  of  salvation 
to  them.  The  Lord  will  show  what  the  outcome  will  be. 
We  do  not  say  much,  but  have  expressed  ourselves  both 
orally  and  in  writing."  Reichel  says  :  "  In  1738,  when  visit- 
ing theSchwenkfeldersforthe  third  time,  he  {^Spangenberg) 
complained  of  their  exclusive  sectarian  spirit,  by  which  the 
consciences  are  burdened ;  but  it  is  still  more  likely  that 
Spangenberg,  '  still  too  learned  to  be  an  apostle '  (as  Zin- 
zendorf  expressed  it)  and  lacking  experience,  did  not  al- 
ways meet  them,  and  especially  their  minister,  George 
Weiss,  with  that  Christian  candor  and  liberality  which 
alone  awakens  confidence,  and  which  in  later  years  was 
the  brightest  ornament  of  Bro.  Spangenberg's  career." 
In  Fresenius  we  find  these  words  :  "At  first  for  a  consid- 
erable time  Spangenberg  attended  their  meetings,  adopted 
their  mode  of  dress,  associated  much  with  them,  and  they 
permitted  this  for  a  time,  although  they  knew  his  principles 
while  yet  in  the  old  country,  but  they  were  disinclined  to 
enter  into  a  more  intimate  familiarity  with  and  submission 
to  him,  until  at  last  George  Weiss,  their  preacher,  who  was 
not  at  all  inclined  to  adopt  the  Herrnhuter  form,  and  espe 


The  Ski f pack  Brethren,  109 

daily  not  their  outward  ceremonies  and  manner  of  teach- 
ing, forbade  his  further  teaching  or  acting  in  their  meet- 
ings." 

George  Neisser,  who  lived  with  Wiegner  for  a  while, 
says:  *' Through  condescendence  towards  the  Schwenk- 
felders  the  whole  company  (Wiegner,  Spangenberg  and 
the  others  at  Wiegner's  house)  attended  their  services  and 
in  clothing  and  other  matters  adapted  themselves  to  them. 
But  when  it  was  perceived  that  this  condescension  and 
other  inducements  to  love  as  well  as  the  efforts  to  win 
them  would  bear  no  fruit,  a  gradual  withdrawal  took 
place."  Sunday  services  were  then  instituted  at  Wieg- 
ner's, to  which  particularly  on  festival  occasions  and  in 
summer  time  there  came  among  others  :  From  Skip- 
pack  :  Heinrich  Frey,  Johannes  Kooken,  George  Merkel, 
Christian  Weber,  Jost  Schmidt,  Willhelm  Bossens,  Jost 
Becker ;  from  Friedrichstown  (Frederick  Township) : 
Heinrich  Antes,  Wilhelm  Frey,  George  Stiefel,  Heinrich 
Holstein,  Andreas  Frey ;  from  Matetsche  (Methacton) : 
Matthias  Gmelen,  Abraham  Wagner ;  from  Oley :  John 
Bertolet,  Franz  Ritter  and  Wilhelm  Pott ;  from  German- 
town  :  Johannes  Bechtel,  Johann  Adam  Gruber,  Blasius 
Mackinet  and  George  Benzel.  Monthly  conferences  were 
also  held,  which  continued  until  1740.  It  was  probably 
in  this  connection  that  the  name  "The  Associated  Breth- 
ren of  the  Skippack"  arose. 

On  the  fifteenth  of  March,  1739,  Wiegner  wrote  that 
Spangenberg  had  received  a  call  to  Germany  and  that 
they  were  thus  placed  in  great  straits  (  Wir  stehen  sehr  in 
der  enge).  The  following  August,  Spangenberg  accord- 
ing to  Reichel  left  for  Europe  without  having  had  the 
pleasure  of  seeing  much  fruit  for  his  labors.  It  used  to  be 
said  that  he   came  to  Pennsylvania  a  very  wise  man,  but 


no  The  Pennsylvania-German  Society. 

had  returned  a  much  wiser  man.  Before  his  return  he 
wrote  :  "  My  plan  is  to  declare  freely  to  all  that  in  Christ 
Jesus  naught  but  a  new  creature  avails,  such  a  one  we 
will  consider  a  brother ;  others  are  but  men  of  the  world 
and  cannot  stand  before  God.  We  will  not  concern  our- 
selves whether  a  man  has  a  particular  name  but  whether 
he  believes  on  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  and  walks  in  the  law 
of  love."  These  words  can  easily  be  duplicated  from  the 
writings  of  Casper  Schwenkfeld.  The  words  do  honor 
to  any  follower  of  the  Lord.  One  might  almost  be  tempted 
to  ask,  Did  a  Schwenkfelder  utter  these  words?  In 
fact  we  find  that  Zinzendorf  told  Eckstein  that  Spang- 
enberg  was  a  Schwenkfelder.  What  he  meant  by  such 
a  statement  is  not  made  clear.  Isaac  Schultz  wrote  in 
1839  *^^^  Spangenberg  loved  and  read  Schwenkfeld's  writ- 
ings, and  that  he  would  have  remained  with  his  friends 
if  he  had  not  been  called  away.  Verification  of  this  state- 
ment has  not  been  possible  from  other  sources.  What 
would  have  been  the  result  if  he  had  not  been  called  away? 
What  would  have  been  the  outcome  if  George  Weiss  had 
been  a  mercenary,  and  sought  to  draw  the  Associated 
Brethren  of  the  Skippack  into  the  Schwenkfelder  fold? 
April  25,  1740,  the  remnant  of  the  Moravian  colony  in 
Georgia  came  to  Philadelphia  on  board  of  the  sloop 
Savanna  with  Whitefield,  the  well-known  leader  of  the 
Methodists.  Reichel  says:  "They  were  greatly  disap- 
pointed at  not  finding  either  Spangenberg,  who  had  left 
for  Europe  or  Bishop  Nitschman,  whose  early  arrival  was 
expected.  They  went  to  Wiegner's,  next  to  Henry  Antes 
and  then  back  again  to  Germantown."  Meanwhile  Mr. 
Whitefield  had  bought  5,000  acres  of  land  in  Northampton 
County  for  the  purpose  of  erecting  a  school  for  negroes. 
On  May  5,  he  came  to  Wiegner's  plantation  in  Skippack 


Zinzendorf  s  Zeal.  Ill 

to  see  Peter  Bohler  concerning  the  intended  building. 
Many  people  assembled  to  see  and  hear  the  famous  Mr. 
Whitefield,  who  preached  to  them  in  English  followed 
b}''  Peter  Bohler  in  a  German  address.  In  Whitefield's 
journal  are  found  these  words  :  "Preached  at  Skippack 
sixteen  miles  from  Montgomery  where  the  Dutch  people 
live.  It  was  seemingly  a  ver}''  wilderness  part  of  the  coun- 
try ;  but  there  were  not  less  I  believe  than  2,000  hearers." 
Wiegner's  diary  closes  with  April,  1739,  so  that  it  furnishes 
no  information  concerning  this  or  subsequent  visits  or  affairs. 
From  other  sources  we  learn,  however,  that  Eschenbach, 
Ranch,  Anne  Nitschmann,  Molter,  Zeisberger  and  other 
Moravians  enjoyed  the  hospitality  of  the  home  of  Chris- 
topher Wiegner,  his  sister  and  mother. 

Zinzendorf's  missionary  zeal  is  appropriately  expressed 
in  his  own  words  of  August,  1741  :  "  I  am  destined  by  the 
Lord  to  proclaim  the  message  of  the  death  and  blood  of 
Jesus."  He  longed  to  preach  Christ  crucified  and  to 
build  up  a  true  church  unto  the  Lord.  Reichel  says  : 
"Zinzendorf  was  of  the  opinion  that  the  best  field  for 
unrestrained  general  activity  for  the  Kingdom  of  God 
would  be  in  Pennsylvania ;  for  in  a  country  and  among  a 
people  where  there  were  as  yet  no  ecclesiastical  organiza- 
tions whatever  there  could  not  be  hindrances  such  as  he 
met  elsewhere  —  hindrances  founded  upon  and  emanating 
from  ecclesiastical  usages  and  customs  of  old  standing. 
Therefore  if  anywhere  on  earth  his  ideal  of  '  a  church  of 
God  in  the  Spirit'  could  be  realized,  Pennsylvania,  he 
thought,  might  be  that  countr3^"  With  this  in  mind  he 
came  to  Pennsylvania  in  December,  1741,  to  labor  among 
the  diverse  churches  and  sects  scattered  throughout  Penn- 
sylvania. Within  ten  days  after  his  arrival  he  called  on 
Wiegner  and  preached   a   sermon   on   John  III.   16   and 


112  The  Pennsylvania- German  Society. 

Matt.  XVI.  19  which  seems  to  have  given  scant  satisfac- 
tion. Wiegner's  "Associated  Brethren  of  the  Skippack" 
probably  formed  a  factor  in  the  count's  decision  to  come 
to  Pennsylvania.  Hence  it  was  but  the  natural  thing  to 
make  such  a  prompt  call  at  Wiegner's  home.  A  few  days 
later,  December  15,  O.  S.,  a  call  was  issued  signed  by 
Henry  Antes  one  of  the  frequenters  at  the  meetings  at 
Wiegner's  for  a  general  meeting  at  Germantown  of  mem- 
bers of  all  denominations  "  not  for  the  purpose  of  disputing 
but  in  order  to  treat  peaceably  concerning  the  most  impor- 
tant articles  of  faith  and  to  ascertain  how  far  they  might 
all  agree  in  the  most  essential  points  for  the  purpose  of 
promoting  mutual  love  and  forbearance." 

In  pursuance  of  the  call  a  synod  was  therefore  held  in  Ger- 
mantown on  New  Year's  day,  O.  S.  Christopher  Wiegner, 
according  to  some  reports,  seems  to  have  been  one  of  the 
important  members  of  the  gathering.  Christopher  Saur 
said  concerning  this  synod  :  "  The  Schwenkf elders  knew 
him  (Zinzendorf)  and  had  lived  with  him.  Of  these  none 
came.  Two  who  lived  in  Germantown  were  prevailed 
upon  to  attend,  but  when  they  saw  that  they  were  only 
wanted  in  order  that  it  might  be  heralded  abroad  that  they 
too  had  attended  they  went  home."  It  seems  that  Saur 
did  not  class  Wiegner  as  a  Schwenkfelder  or  did  not  know 
of  his  attendance.  The  scant  attention  given  the  gathering 
by  the  Schwenkfelders,  the  displeasure  aroused  by  their 
not  migrating  to  Georgia  originally,  the  non-responsiveness 
to  the  labors  of  Bonisch  and  Spangenberg,  the  sly  syco- 
phancy of  others,  probably  put  Zinzendorf  into  a  frame 
of  mind  that  on  slight  provocation  might  lead  him  to  im- 
prudent acts  and  this  indeed  happened  all  too  soon. 

On  Epiphany,  January  6,  Zinzendorf  preached  the 
second    time    at   Wiegner's    and    was    listened  to  by   the 


Controversy.  113 

Schvvenkfelders  who  rejoiced  to  see  their  former  guardian 
angel  and  benefactor.  It  seems  that  on  the  same  day 
eight  of  them  called  upon  him  at  his  house  in  German- 
town.  Both  here  and  at  Wiegner's  controversy  arose. 
What  took  place  was  written  out  by  the  Schwenkfelders 
and  later  published.  Zinzendorf  questioned  them  con- 
cerning their  confession  of  faith,  their  organization,  their 
hymns  and  other  points.  He  said  Schwenkfeld  taught 
error,  rejected  word  and  outward  things  or  services,  that 
George  Weiss  led  the  people  around  by  the  nose  and 
taught  errors,  that  it  was  easier  to  preach  to  Satan  than  to 
them,  that  he  had  power  over  them  and  was  bound  to  save 
their  souls,  that  he  would  not  rest  until  he  had  destroyed 
them  and  torn  their  children  from  them,  that  he  would  use 
all  his  powers  to  tear  souls  from  them  and  to  save  the 
children  from  hell.  They  politely  answered  his  questions, 
saying  among  other  things:  *' After  many  attacks  upon 
us  and  our  truth  we  left  Germany  and  should  it  be  that 
here  also  we  could  not  remain  in  peace,  there  would  no 
doubt  be  found  again  some  other  little  spot  for  us.  We  do 
not  intend  to  depart  from  our  confession."  To  say  the 
least,  Zinzendorf  did  not  show  the  wisdom  of  a  serpent  nor 
the  harmlessness  of  a  dove  in  thus  attacking  a  body  of 
people  so  well  spoken  of  as  the  Schwenkfelders.  A 
few  days  later  he  and  Bishop  Nitschman  called  upon  John 
Eckstein,  who  had  accompanied  Spangenberg  to  Georgia. 
Here  the  Schwenkfelders  were  again  discussed,  Zinzendorf 
reiterating  what  he  had  said  before  to  the  Schwenkfelders 
while  Eckstein  defended  them,  upon  which  the  count  became 
quite  wrathful,  saying  that  he  had  power  over  them  and 
that  he  would  pray  the  Lord  to  cast  them  out  of  his  mouth. 
Some  time  after  this  Zinzendorf  actually  consulted  a 
magistrate  concerning  his  imagined  power  over  them  and 


iiq.  The  Pennsylvania- German  Society. 

was  told  that  if  he  had  paid  no  ship-passage  for  them,  he 
could  have  no  power  over  them.  What  the  outcome 
would  have  been  had  the  passage  been  paid  by  the  count, 
no  one  can  tell.  Would  they  have  been  sold  as  redemp- 
tioners?  Would  they  have  gone  to  Georgia  instead  of 
Pennsylvania,  there  to  perish  as  did  some  of  the  Moravians  ? 
Zinzendorf's  course  of  conduct  was  adapted  to  cause  per- 
plexity leading  to  conference  and  consultation.  He  was 
continually  making  threats,  seeking,  as  it  appeared  to  the 
Schwenkfelders,  to  tempt  them  to  commit  some  outward  act 
against  him  but  they,  as  was  their  custom,  were  seeking  as 
much  as  lay  in  their  power  to  live  at  peace  with  all  men 
and  particularly  with  him. 

The  second  synod  met  January  14  and  15  at  the  house 
of  George  Hiibner  in  Falckner  Swamp.  George  was  a 
son  of  Doctor  Melchior  Hiibner  who  had  migrated  with 
the  Schwenkfelders  but  who  was  not  in  harmony  with  the 
leaders  and  was  not  considered  as  one  of  the  Schwenk- 
felders at  the  time  of  his  death  in  1738.  The  son  was  un- 
doubtedly influenced  by  the  father  and  thus  was  probably 
not  a  strict  Schwenkfelder.  He  as  a  miller  was  a  business 
partner  of  Henry  Antes  and  also  a  considerable  land- 
holder. Wiegner  attended  the  synod  and  was  granted  the 
freedom  of  the  synods,  being  one  of  the  members  at  liberty 
to  attend  without  further  notice.  The  Schwenkfelders 
did  not  send  delegates  to  this  nor  to  any  subsequent  synod. 
The  tumult  incited  by  Zinzendorf  on  Epiphany  must  have 
been  noised  about  and  must  have  aroused  attention  even 
among  the  members  of  the  synod  and  was  in  itself  ample 
excuse  for  non-attendance. 

At  the  third  conference  held  in  Oley,  February  10-12, 
the  proposition  was  made  that  if  the  Schwenkfelders  had 
any  complaints  against  Brother  Ludwig  (Zinzendorf)  they 
should  present  themselves  at  the  next  synod. 


Pennsylvania  Synods.  1 15 

The  fourth  synod  met  in  Germantown,  March  10-12. 
A  letter  written  by  Casper  Kriebel  dated,  "  Domentz, 
March  7,  1742,"  replying  to  one  by  Christopher  Schultz, 
raising  the  question  of  making  a  defense  against  Zinzen- 
dorf,  contained  the  words  :  "It  is  the  opinion  of  myself 
and  some  others  that  it  is  not  advisable  to  attend  said  con- 
ference. Hitherto  we  have  had  nothing  to  do  with  him. 
He  indeed  makes  pretensions  against  us,  but  these  are 
European  and  not  American."  According  to  Reichel, 
"  when  Zinzendorf  entered  and  found  that  only  those  had 
made  their  appearance  who  were  really  one  in  spirit — the 
Mennonites  and  Schwenkfelders  having  sent  no  deputies 
—  he  felt  that  the  proper  objects  of  these  meetings  would 
not  be  gained  and  proposed  to  dissolve  the  meeting  at  once, 
but  this  proposition  was  overruled  by  the  synod." 

The  day  previous  to  the  opening  of  the  synod,  Wiegner 
and  Zinzendorf  discussed  the  Schwenkfelders  and  Wiegner 
told  the  count  that  in  certain  respects  he  had  labored  under 
misapprehensions.  The  result  was  a  letter  by  Zinzen- 
dorf dated  "  Germantown,  March  20,  1742,"  (N.  S.)  He 
recounted  the  experiences  at  the  previous  Epiphany,  tried 
to  justify  his  own  conduct,  saying  among  other  things  :  "  I 
declared  to  your  attending  deputies  *  *  *  how  I  thought 
to  proceed.  *  *  *  I  would  fix  a  time  of  three  months  for 
your  false  teachers,  unconverted  overseers  and  blind 
leaders  ;  if  during  that  time  some  one  who  knows  the  cross 
of  Jesus  would  take  you  in  charge,  convert  some  of  you, 
introduce  the  holy  sacraments  and  thus  make  you  capable 
of  the  name  of  a  church,  then  I  would  have  to  let  you 
stand  in  the  Lord,  for  you  would  then  be  an  ordinary 
religion.  But  in  case  the  heretofore  and  still  existing  con- 
fusion should  continue  and  according  to  your  own  confes- 
sion to  me  no  one  became  converted,  false  doctrine  should 


ii6  The  Pennsylvania- Ger^nan  Society. 

continue  in  vogue,  the  sacraments  remain  absolutely  abol- 
ished and  when  one  inquires  of  you  for  foundations, 
nothing  be  left  but  the  bare  name  of  the  sect,  the  par- 
ticular dress  and  perhaps  an  empty  word  sound  about  the 
dead  letter,  inner  word,  spirit  and  the  like  ;  then  rather 
than  permit  you  to  become  scattered  here  and  there  to 
desert  and  connect  with  other  sects  to  become  false  separa- 
tists and  thus  to  permit  your  entire  ruin,  I  would  concern 
myself  earnestly  about  you  with  this  purpose  to  make  a 
beginning  while  you  were  here,  to  visit  you  specifically,  to 
gather  and  improve  you,  to  remove  the  hirelings  from  you 
in  case  they  withstood  me,  to  tear  the  sheep  out  of  their 
mouths.  *  *  *  I  therefore  wanted  to  remind  you  that  the 
time  is  approaching  and  terminates  on  the  sixth  of  April, 
when  you  are  again  invited  to  a  conference."^ 

To  this  letter  Balzer  Hoffman  and  other  sundry  friends 
politely  replied  that  they  would  not  attend  the  conference 
or  synod,  that  they  commended  themselves  to  God  and  that 
they  conceded  to  all  the  privilege  of  acting  as  seemed  best 
to  them.  Zinzendorf  replied  again  as  follows  :  "  While  I 
hereby  charge  you  publicly  before  the  all-seeing  eyes  of 
God  the  Saviour  as  well  as  before  every  honorable  man 
that  you  have  committed  the  spiritual  and  temporal  care  of 
your  people  to  me  in  writing  in  case  you  should  dwell  out- 
side of  my  territory  and  particularly  outside  of  Europe  and 
indeed  partly  in  naming  Pennsylvania.  But  I  do  not  wish 
to  lay  the  writing  before  you,  because  you  treat  me  with 
sophistical  artifices  and  I  (the  appointee  of  Jesus  as  Re- 
former of  the  Schwenkfelder  religion)  being  obliged  to 
proceed  apostolically  desire  that  you  give  me  the  following 

*  "It  was  an  empty  threat  that  these  people  should  fear  and  at  once  prostrate 
themselves,  for  they  did  not  come  and  paid  no  attention  to  his  dictatorial  coua- 
sels,  but  remained  quietly  away  from  him  and  since  that  time  he  could  not 
undertake  anything  further  against  them." 


Release  of  Zinzendorf.  117 

written  obligation  under  your  name  that  until  after  your 
death  you  will  take  the  charge  upon  yourselves  ;  in  that 
event  this  paper  will  serve  you  as  a  strong  obligation  on 
my  part  that  I  will  defer  my  services  as  reformer  of  the 
Schwenkfelder  religion  until  your  death,  unless  it  should 
happen  that  some  souls  among  you  would  request  me  to 
perform  such  service  whom  I  would  at  all  times  accept  as 
my  children,"  etc. 

The  following  is  the  form  of  release  proposed:    "We, 
the  undersigned,  release  Count  Louis  von  Zinzendorf  in 
the  sincerest  and  most  effective  manner  before  God  and 
man  of  and  from  all  temporal  and  spiritual  care  of  the 
Schwenkfelders  in  America  during  the  term  of  our  lives." 
The  following  rejoinder  was  then  given  by  the  Schwenk- 
felders:    "Out  of   veneration  for   your    person  we  have 
in  sincerity  replied  to  all  demands  heretofore  made  upon 
us  but   finding  that  our  simple  yet  truthful    declarations 
are    construed  as  sophistry,  we    are  compelled  hereafter 
absolutely  to  decline  to  take  notice  of  any  and  every  im- 
portunity that  may  be  made,  both  written  and  oral,  until 
we  are  shown  that  written  power  of  our  submission  which 
we  are  said  to  have  executed.     It  is  not  the  accusation  but 
the  evidence  that  proves  the  case.     We  do  not  believe  in 
that  entrusted  instruction  from  Christ  against  our  religion. 
We  decline  the  demand,  we  have  neither  the  bestowed  nor 
assumed  power  or  arbitrariness  to  treat  with  our  people  in 
the  manner  indicated ;  it  would  appear  neither  formal  nor 
proper,  but  rather  it  would  appear  foolish.     By  the  help  of 
God  we  shall  remain  with  ours,  thank  Him  for  our  liberty, 
place  our  trust  in  His  provident  care  and  commit  ourselves 
with  all  that  may  impend  to  Him.     For  what  length  of 
time  that  entrusted  reformation  is  to  be  suspended  does  not 
give  us   any  concern.     With  this   simple  declaration  we 


ii8  The  Pennsylvania- German  Society. 

merely  make  known  that  we  can  not  assume,  much  less 
assent  to  what  we  are  charged  with.  We  can  not  imagine 
why  such  a  binding  obligation  has  not  been  shown  ere 
this :  as  we  frankly  made  known  our  intentions  and  com- 
menced our  journey  publicly." 

At  the  seventh  synod  the  views  of  the  members  were 
expressed  concerning  the  religious  state  of  nine  denom- 
inations in  Pennsylvania.  Of  the  Schwenkfelders  the 
conclusion  was  in  part  as  follows  :  "  The  Schwenkfelders 
so-called  are  in  a  lamentable  condition.  They  have  no 
system  of  their  own.  In  Germany  they  allow  their  chil- 
dren to  be  baptized  ;  here  they  do  not.  Those  who  offered 
to  aid  them  they  have  rejected.  Brother  Thurnstein  (Zin- 
zendorf)  brought  with  him  and  beside  received  here  such 
views  of  them  as  misled  him  into  a  severity  which  they 
indeed  deserved,  but  which  their  accusers  deserved  much 
more.  *  *  *  He  also  sought  a  release  from  them  show- 
ing that  they  would  decline  his  duty  towards  them  dur- 
ing their  lives ;  this  they  returned  unsigned.  He  has  at 
this  time  a  definite  assurance  from  a  sufficient  number  of 
them  that  they  neither  need  him  nor  expect  to  unite  with 
him." 

The  seventh  was  the  last  of  the  synods  in  which  Zin- 
zendorf  participated  and  also  marks  the  time  when  first 
the  Schwenkfelders  could  feel  themselves  entirely  free 
from  the  power  of  Zinzendorf .  For  sixteen  years  had  they 
in  an  unorganized  condition  withstood  his  efforts  at  "  con- 
version "  and  successfully  stood  by  the  faith  of  the  fathers 
placed  in  their  hands  as  a  sacred  trust  according  to  their 
view.  A  heart  of  charity  will  not  impugn  the  motives  or 
his  love,  but  perchance  may  see  in  him  one  of  God's  lambs 
wrapped  in  wolf's  clothing,  and  actuated  by  a  feudalistic 
spirit  entirely  foreign  to  the  genius  of  the  church  and 
state  in  Pennsylvania. 


Schivenkf elder  vs.  Moravian. 


-I19 


To  a  Schwenkfelder  who  fully  appreciated  his  own  sys- 
tem of  doctrine,  it  would  have  seemed  preposterous  to 
adopt  as  his  spiritual  guide  and  teacher,  Zinzendorf  who,, 
as  report  has  it,  taught  that  there  were  but  two  churches,, 
the  Roman  Catholic  and  the  Moravian,  the  former  even 
having  lost  its  power,  that  the  children  of  Moravian  par- 
ents did  not  need  regeneration,  that  baptism  of  water  was 
regeneration,  that  claimed  to  be  the  "  appointee  of  Jesus 
as  Reformer  of  the  Schwenkfelder  religion." 

To  guard  against  unwarranted  inferences  it  will  be  in 
place  to  say  in  conclusion  that  the  most  cordial  relation 
has  always  existed  between  Schwenkfelders  and  Mora- 
vians and  that  it  is  to  be  hoped  that  the  same  may  continue 
in  years  to  come. 


WHKEI,  FOR  SPINNING  OR  TWISTING  WOOI,, 


CHAPTER  IX. 
Secular  Education  among  the  Schwenkfelders. 

NOWLEDGE  is  power  and  its  acquisi- 
tion a  Christian  duty.  In  studying  the 
history  of  secular  education  among  the 
Schwenkfelders  as  a  body,  one  finds 
comparatively  little  material  relating 
to  the  first  thirty  years  after  the  immi- 
gration. It  is  evident  that  the  immi- 
grant Schwenkfelders  were  not  of  a 
low  type  of  intelligence.  Very  few  of  them  made  their 
*'  mark"  at  the  time  of  their  taking  the  pledge  of  alle- 
giance. Their  religious  leaders,  Weiss,  Hoffman  and 
Schultz,  probably  aided  the  respective  communities  in  win- 
ning the  elements  of  a  practical  education  in  the  common 
branches.  Christopher  Schultz  in  his  Historische  An- 
merkungen  says  that  about  the  year  1764  there  was  con- 
siderable deliberation  with  respect  to  the  establishment  of 
a  school  system  for  and  by  the  Schwenkfelders.  The 
necessity  for  such  schools  was  laid  before  the  heads  of 
famiHes  in  a  series  of  questions.  A  meeting  was  there- 
upon held  on  the  first  of  March,  1764,  and  money  pledged 

( 120 ) 


Articles  of  Agreement.  121 

for  the  support  of  the  schools.  In  June  another  meeting 
was  held  when  articles  of  agreement  were  adopted  and  the 
system  was  inaugurated. 

In  the  deliberations  of  June,  the  following  principles 
were  agreed  to,  written  out  quite  fully  and  illustrated  by 
references  to  a  number  of  authorities  : 

1.  Man  by  nature  is  lost,  but  is  intended  by  God  to  be 
eternally  happy. 

2.  It  is  the  duty  of  parents  to  bring  up  their  children  in 
the  fear  of  God  and  in  useful  knowledge. 

3.  A  system  of  public  schools  is  necessary  to  lighten, 
but  it  can  not  remove,  the  duty  of  parents  in  this  respect. 

4.  It  is  the  object  of  schools  to  lead  children  into  the 
wisdom  of  God  and  the  possession  of  useful  knowledge. 

5.  Specifically  it  is  their  object  to  educate  in  godliness, 
learning  and  virtue. 

6.  This  principle  concerning  the  object  of  schools  is 
founded  on  God. 

7.  The  essential  conditions  of  good  schools  are  com- 
petent teachers,  order  and  regulations,  a  true  fear  of  God, 
impartation  of  useful  knowledge,  care  of  teachers. 

8.  A  teacher  ought  to  be  godly,  educated  and  of  good 
repute. 

9.  A  faithful  teacher  must  seek  the  true  welfare  of  his 
pupils. 

10.  It  is  necessary  for  parents  and  teachers  to  agree  as 
to  methods  to  bring  about  the  best  results. 

11.  The  moral  training  of  children  must  not  be  over- 
looked. 

12.  The  reading  of  God's  Word  and  the  study  of  the 
catechism  should  not  be  omitted  from  schools. 

13.  Reading  and  writing  the  English  and  German 
languages,  arithmetic  and  geography  and  other  useful 
branches  should  be  studied. 


122  The  Pennsylvania- Gei'nian  Society. 


<?v 


aor  (AnitrioLiimq     -d/tJ 


aor  ^nicrSaiiiu^     'd^ 
d^vvvX  marten 


TITLE  PAGE   "  GOSHENHOPPEN  SCHUI,  BUCH  "   OR   MINUTE  BOOK  OF 
SCHOOL-SYSTEM. 


Fundamental  Articles.  123 

14.  Provision  should  be  made  for  the  support  of  the 
teacher. 

At  the  time  of  the  adoption  of  the  afore-mentioned  princi- 
ples, the  following  regulations  were  also  adopted : 

Certain  Agreements  and  Fundamental  Articles  for  the 
establishment,  support  and  continuation  of  a  school-system 
in  the  districts  of  Skippack  and  Goshenhoppen  as  they 
were  agreed  upon  and  determined  by  and  between  the 
contributors  thereto  this  thirteenth  day  of  June,  1764. 

Whereas,  the  faithful  training  of  the  young  in  read- 
ing, writing  and  the  study  of  the  languages  and  useful 
sciences,  according  to  sex,  age  and  standing  and  their  in- 
struction in  the  principles  of  morality,  virtue  and  true  re- 
ligion contribute  very  much  to  the  prosperity  and  welfare 
of  every  community,  which  can  be  accomplished  in  no 
way  better  than  by  the  establishment  of  schools  under  wise 
and  proper  regulations  adapted  to  such  undertaking  and, 

Whereas,  the  small  community  of  people,  known  by 
the  name  "  Schwenkfelders  "  has  hitherto  been  under  irreat 
inconvenience  for  the  education  of  their  children  in  the 
useful  elements  referred  to  above  through  want  of  well- 
regulated  schools ; 

Therefore,  they  took  the  matter  to  heart  and  met  on 
the  first  day  of  March,  1764,  in  Skippack  and  earnestly 
deliberated  how  and  in  what  form  schools  might  be  estab- 
lished among  them  whereupon  they  concluded  that  it  would 
be  most  convenient  to  collect  and  establish  a  fund  from  the 
proceeds  of  which  the  most,  even  if  not  all  the  expenses 
for  the  support  of  such  schools  could  be  met,  annually 
their  deliberations  agreeing  on  the  following  conditions 
and  terms.  The  above-named  took  into  consideration 
their  insignificant  numbers  and  means  in  comparison  with 
the  heavy  expenses  that  would  be  incurred  by  such  schools 


124  The  Pennsylvania-German  Society. 

and  concluded  that  in  view  of  these  circumstances,  it 
would  be  advantageous  to  the  encouragement  of  subscrip- 
tions and  the  collection  of  a  larger  amount  to  regard  the 
sums  brought  together  thus  as  a  loan  conditioned  as  fol- 
lows :  The  said  contributors  and  subscribers  give  their 
respective  contributions  to  the  fund  as  a  loan  for  a  period 
of  sixteen  years  reckoned  from  the  sixteenth  day  of  May, 
1764.  Such  sum  shall  be  under  the  management  of  cer- 
tain trustees  in  order  that  the  interest  thereof  at  5  per  cent, 
per  annum  may  be  applied  to  the  support  of  the  said 
schools  in  the  hope  and  trust  in  divine  direction  that 
meanwhile  such  necessary  and  important  undertaking  may 
gradually  be  further  encouraged  by  those  favorably  in- 
clined and  supported  in  true  Christian  spirit  by  gifts  and 
loans  so  that  it  may  be  continually  strengthened.  It  is 
their  purpose  not  only  to  support  the  said  fund  according 
to  their  ability  but  also  to  commend  the  same  to  their 
friends  as  best  they  may  from  time  to  time.  For  it  is  their 
aim,  agreement  and  intention  that  as  long  as  there  are 
children  to  be  educated  and  as  long  as  the  fund  can  be 
administered  under  the  manifest  favor  of  God,  the  said 
fund  shall  be  continued  and  the  whole  undertaking  shall 
be  conducted  by  God's  blessing  unalterably  according  to 
the  following  regulations. 

Wherefore  let  all  whom  it  may  concern  know  that  we 
the  above-mentioned  contributors  earnestly  desire  that  this 
undertaking  may  not  be  hindered  or  rendered  ineffectual 
and  that  it  may  be  conducted  according  to  principles  of 
prudence  and  discretion.  Hence  we  have  agreed  upon  the 
following  fundamental  articles,  regulations  and  rules  to  pro- 
vide a  prudent  management  of  the  fund  and  good  govern- 
ment of  the  schools  before  mentioned.  Our  true  idea  and 
plainly  evident    wish  is   not    to  be  changed  or  perverted 


Control  of  School  Fund.  125 

respecting  this  but  is  to  continue  the  same  and  remain  in 
full  power  forever. 

1.  Since  the  originators  and  contributors  to  the  said 
fund  are  of  the  people  called  Schwenkfelders,  they  re- 
gard the  undertaking  as  theirs  and  desire  that  the  trustees 
elected  for  the  control  of  the  fund  and  supervision  of  the 
schools  may  at  all  times  be  prudent  and  reputable  men  of 
the  said  community.  But  the  idea  and  intention  is  that  the 
said  school  system  shall  be  open  .to  the  children  of  the 
parents  of  any  denomination,  whoever  they  may  be,  under 
this  condition  that  they  pay  for  the  instruction  of  their  chil- 
dren, and  that  they  and  their  children  shall  regulate  and 
conduct  themselves  according  to  the  necessary  regulations 
hereby  presented,  as  well  as  those  that  may  be  made  here- 
after by  the  trustees  hereinafter  mentioned.  Whereby, 
however,  the  impartial  instruction  according  to  the  religion 
of  each  as  much  as  relates  to  the  schools  shall  not  be  hindered. 

2.  On  the  second  Monday  in  the  month  of  March  of 
each  year  forever  between  the  hours  of  10  and  2  of  the 
said  day  the  contributors  to  such  school  system  (but  they 
must  be  such  of  whatever  religious  society  as  have  already 
subscribed  or  hereafter  contribute,  either  to  lend  for  a 
time  £20  or  more  or  to  donate  £2  in  Pennsylvania  currency 
or  more  to  be  expended  for  said  school  system)  shall  have 
the  right  to  assemble  at  one  of  the  school  houses  designated 
by  the  trustees,  and  then  and  there  they  or  the  majority  of 
those  that  have  met  shall  vote  by  ballot  for  trustees  of  the 
said  school  system  for  the  succeeding  year.  The  number 
of  trustees  shall  be  five,  or  as  many  as  the  contributors 
may  agree  upon,  and  these  shall  be  reputable  persons  of 
the  community. 

3.  The  said  trustees  or  the  majority  of  them  shall  have 
power  and  authority  to  make,  order  and  establish  good  and 


126  The  Pennsylvania-German  Society. 

necessary  rules  and  regulations  for  the  good  government 
of  said  schools,  the  officers  of  the  schools  and  the  scholars 
who  shall  be  amenable  to  the  trustees  collectively  and  in- 
dividually, yet  with  the  condition  that  such  rules  and  reg- 
ulations be  in  harmony  with  sound  reason  and  the  general 
regulations  of  this  general  plan. 

4.  The  said  trustees  or  the  majority  of  them  shall  have 
full  power  and  authority  to  examine  and  adjust  all  impor- 
tant differences  that  may  arise  between  the  teachers  and 
pupils,  or  their  masters,  parents  or  those  who  may  be  in 
authority  over  them,  and  the  complaints  of  such  as  may 
feel  wronged,  either  teachers  or  pupils,  or  any  of  them  ; 
yet  with  this  condition  that  by  this  article  or  whatever  is 
included  in  it,  it  is  not  intended  that  those  in  authority  — 
the  teachers  —  shall  be  restrained  from  administering  such 
reasonable  and  moderate  chastisement  as  they  may  deem 
necessary. 

5.  The  said  trustees  or  the  majority  of  them  shall  from 
time  to  time  elect  and  make  agreement  with  school  teachers 
and  for  just  cause  dismiss  and  discharge  the  same ;  also 
dismiss  and  discharge  unruly  scholars  and  such  as  will  not 
conduct  themselves  in  accord  with  the  afore-mentioned  rules 
and  regulations,  as  well  as  those  who  in  unjust  matters  are 
not  properly  admonished  by  parent,  guardian,  master  or 
mistress.  In  their  election  of  school  officers  or  school- 
masters due  care  must  be  taken  that  persons  of  education, 
wisdom,  and  unaffected  piety  and  virtue  are  preferred  and 
that  such  are  avoided  as  are  known  to  be  selfish,  quarrel- 
some and  without  affection.  As  far  as  possible  they  shall 
adapt  themselves  to  the  instructions  of  the  contributors  as 
agreed  upon  in  June,  1764. 

6.  The  said  trustees  or  the  majority  of  them  shall  have 
full  power  and  authority  to  have  in  their  care,  protection 


Duties  of  Trustees.  127 

and  management  the  aforesaid  fund  and  all  money  be- 
longing to  the  same.  They  shall  keep  an  accurate  account 
of  the  same  and  of  their  financial  transactions,  giving  in- 
come and  expenses,  loans  and  all  the  circumstances  rela- 
ting to  the  same.  The  obligation  and  security  which  they 
give  as  trustees  shall  be  ample  and  binding  both  as  to  them- 
selves and  their  successors  in  office. 

7.  The  said  trustees  or  the  majority  of  them  shall  faith- 
fully use  or  invest  all  such  money  or  income  of  such  money 
as  many  be  contributed  to  said  school  system  by  will,  pres- 
ent or  loan  at  all  times  as  they  may  deem  best  for  the  true 
welfare  of  the  same  in  accordance  with  the  herein-men- 
tioned regulations,  unless  those  that  bequeath,  present  or 
loan  the  money  give  order  how  the  money  shall  be  used, 
which  orders  shall  always  be  minutely  followed  in  so  far  as 
they  are  not  contrary  to  the  herein-embraced  regulations. 

8.  The  said  schools  shall  be  visited  once  in  each  month 
by  at  least  two  of  said  trustees  in  order  that  both  teacher 
and  pupil  may  do  their  duty.  The  trustees  or  the  majority 
of  them  shall  meet  whenever  the  said  visiting  trustees  find 
occasion  to  call  them  together  and  then  to  order  and  regu- 
late the  affairs  for  which  they  are  appointed  and  for  which 
the  said  visiting  trustees  may  have  called  them.  They 
shall  keep  a  book  at  the  expense  of  the  community  in 
which  to  note  and  record  all  such  matters  as  they  may 
have  agreed  upon  with  respect  to  the  schools  at  their 
meetings  as  well  as  accounts  of  all  money  which  they  re- 
ceive, expend  or  pay  out  from  time  to  time.  The  said 
book  shall  be  laid  before  the  annual  meeting  of  the  con- 
tributors for  inspection. 

9.  In  case,  however,  it  should  be  discovered,  seen  and 
recognized  by  the  contributors,  contrary  to  all  expectation, 
that  the  work  thus  instituted,  the  said  school  system,  is 


128  The  Pennsylvania- German  Society. 

more  harmful  than  beneficial  to  the  worthy  cause  hereby 
indicated,  it  is  herewith  agreed  and  resolved  that  in  such 
event  the  whole  matter  shall  be  brought  to  an  end  and  res- 
titution shall  be  made  to  each  contributor  or  his  heirs  of 
the  money  donated  and  of  the  obligations  and  securities 
except  what  may  have  been  expended. 

lo.  It  is  further  the  sense  and  idea  that  the  contributors 
or  a  majority  of  them  assembled  at  any  general  meeting 
shall  have  the  right  to  make  such  further  regulations  and 
to  do  and  provide  all  such  things  as  from  time  to  time  may 
be  found  serviceable  to  the  well-being  and  convenience  of 
the  said  undertaking  —  the  school-system. 

In  witness  hereof  there  follow  herewith  the  names  of  the 
founders,  subscribers  and  supporters  of  the  said  school- 
system  together  with  the  amount  of  money  subscribed  by 
each. 


Christoph  Schultz     , 

^50  a 

loan 

Casper  Kribel 

^50  a  loan 

George  Schultz 

30 

George  Kribel  Jun. 

30      ' 

George  Schultz,  Jun. 

50 

Abraham  Kribel 

30      ' 

Melchior  Schultz 

50 

George  Anders  Sen. 

5      ' 

Barbara  Yeakel 

40 

George  Anders  Jun. 

20      ' 

Andreas  Warmer 

20 

Melcher  Krebel 

20      ' 

David  Schultz 

ID 

Casper  Seibt 

30      ' 

Christoph  Krause 

40 

Christoph  Neumann 

20      ' 

Christoph  Yeakel 

50 

David  Neuman 

25      ' 

Balthasar  Yeakel 

10 

Heinrich  Schneider 

20      ' 

Johannes  Yeakel 

50 

Abraham  Yeakel 

20      ' 

George  Heydrich 

6a 

donation 

Gregorius  Schultz 

20      ' 

George  Kriebel 

30  a 

loan 

Rosina  Wiegner 

30   Nov.   27, 

Christoph  Kribel 

30 

(t 

1766 

Christoph  Hoffman 

20 

<( 

Andreas  Haag 

4  a  donation 

Hausz  Chr.  Huebner 

30 

'* 

.QiiTTiTna 

/'9\Ac\  r>  r 

The  showing  made  by  the  subscription  list  is  quite  cred- 
itable, although  about  twenty-five  families  were  not  repre- 
sented. Of  these,  some  had  moved  away,  some  had  no 
means,  a   few  may  not  have  been  entirely  in  sympathy 


Election  of  Officers,  129 

with  the  movement  and  some  did  not  join  in  any  work  of 
the  Schwenkfelders,  not  being  looked  upon  as  being  of 
the  Schwenkfelders.  The  840  pounds  originally  sub- 
scribed was  reduced  to  less  than  800  by  the  withdrawal  of 
a  few  subscriptions. 

In  this  effort  they  had  the  example  of  practically  all  the 
churches  around  them  :  Mennonite,  Reformed,  Lutheran, 
Quaker,  Moravian,  Presbyterian,  Episcopalian,  Catholic 
—  schools  being  conducted  by  all  of  these  denominations. 
It  is  not  unlikely  that  they  received  suggestions  and  inspira- 
tion from  the  establishment  of  the  Germantown  Academy, 
1761 .  Unlike  these  churches,  however,  they  could  not  look 
to  the  fatherland  for  aid,  for  there  they  had  none  to  aid  them. 
They  could  not  look  to  the  provincial  government  for  it 
aided  none  educationally.  They  had  the  example  of  the 
religious  and  secular  community  to  use  the  lottery  for  rais- 
ing money,  for  they  had  seen  churches,  parsonages,  school- 
houses,  paved  streets  and  general  public  improvements 
made  by  raising  money  through  such  means.  They  chose 
the  cheapest  and  best  way  of  giving  —  by  giving.  Space 
forbids  any  detailed  references  to  the  prominent  and  com- 
mendable features  of  the  plan  which  will  become  evident 
to  the  attentive  reader  on  its  perusal. 

The  first  election  of  officers  took  place  August  10, 
1764, when  the  following  trustees  were  chosen:  Melchior 
Schultz,  Christopher  Schultz,  Christopher  Yeakel,  George 
Kriebel  and  Casper  Kriebel.  The  first  teachers  were  John 
Davis  and  John  Doerbaum.  The  former  conducted  a 
school  for  six  months  in  the  home  of  Christopher  Schultz 
at  a  salary  of  £20  ($53.33)  and  board  for  the  term;  the 
latter,  for  the  same  time  in  the  house  of  George  Anders 
for  £10  ($26.66)  and  board,  light  and  fuel.  Melchior 
Wiegner   and    Melchior  Schultz  jointly  conveyed  to  the 

9 


130  The  Pennsyl-vania-German  Society. 

trustees,  September  24,  1764,  two  acres  and  fifty  perches 
of  meadow  land  for  the  benefit  and  use  of  the  schools  and 
the  school  teacher.  The  trustees  made  improvements  on 
the  land  the  following  spring.  The  land  reverted  to  the 
original  owners  seemingly  by  provision  of  the  deed  of 
conveyance. 

The  first  school-house  was  built  in  1765,  in  Towamencin, 
close  to  where  the  Schwenkfelder  meeting  house  now 
stands,  and  a  dwelling  house  for  the  teacher  was  erected 
a  little  later.  Verbal  promises  were  made  at  the  time 
which,  when  it  was  proposed  to  put  them  into  writing,  led 
to  misunderstandings  followed  by  recriminations  affecting 
even  the  attendance  at  the  meetings  for  worship  on  Sun- 
day. The  following  spring  (1766),  at  a  business  meeting, 
several  of  the  subscribers  said  they  were  a  thousand  times 
sorry  that  they  had  joined  in  the  movement  to  establish  the 
schools.  The  dissatisfaction  had  not  even  died  out  in  1771 
when  a  censorious  paper  was  sent  to  the  trustees  of  the 
Goshenhoppen  district. 

One  of  the  early  teachers  gave  considerable  trouble  to 
the  trustees  on  account  of  his  doctrinal  standpoint.  He 
was  a  great  friend  of  the  writings  of  Dippel  and  Edelman, 
and  went  so  far  as  to  quote  objectionable  passages  from 
their  writings  in  setting  the  copy-books  of  the  pupils.  It 
is  needless  to  say  that  he  was  not  reengaged  ;  nothing 
different  could  have  been  expected  from  a  people  who 
jealously  guarded  their  children  with  respect  to  purity  of 
Christian  doctrine.  Christopher  Schultz  was  a  great  friend 
of  a  generous  education,  and,  while  schools  were  thus 
being  conducted  by  the  trustees,  received  into  his  family  a 
number  of  Qiiaker  boys  for  a  time  to  teach  them  the  ele- 
ments of  German.  His  own  children  were  doubtless  also 
pleased  thus  to  have  the  chance  to  learn  a  little  English. 


Financial  Misfortunes,  131 

For  their  benefit  Schultz  translated  into  English  a  short 
essay  by  Schwenkfeld  on  the  Christian  life. 

On  account  of  the  small  number  of  contributors  it  was 
agreed,  1770,  that  the  sons  of  contributors  to  the  original 
fund  should  have  the  right  to  vote  if  they  were  twenty-one 
years  of  age  and  should  be  eligible  to  office  if  they  were 
married.  Prior  to  1790  the  schools  of  the  Upper  or  Gosh- 
enhoppen  district  were  conducted  in  the  private  houses  of 
Christopher  Schultz,  Balzer  Schultz,  Christopher  Krauss 
and  George  Yeakel.  In  1790  a  combined  school  and 
meeting-house  was  built  in  Hosensack,  and  the  following 
year  one  was  built  in  Washington,  then  a  part  of  Here- 
ford Township,  below  the  present  Clayton.  The  length  of 
school  term  averaged  about  four  months  per  year.  Prior 
to  1 781  the  teachers  were  not  of  the  Schwenkfelder  faith, 
but  misunderstandings  and  the  selfishness  of  some  of  these 
hirelings  led  the  trustees  to  seek  to  employ  teachers 
chosen  from  among  their  own  people.  George  Kriebel 
and  Christopher  Hoffman,  the  ministers,  both  taught  for  a 
number  of  years,  each  being  past  fifty  when  he  began  to 
teach.  With  varied  other  duties  pressing  upon  them,  they 
thought  it  not  beneath  their  dignity  to  enter  the  school- 
room and  teach  the  young  of  their  flock. 

The  school  fund  did  not  escape  the  financial  misfortunes 
of  the  Revolution.  In  an  address  issued  1791,  the  trustees 
stated  that  by  the  interest  of  the  fund  of  1764  and  by  free 
contributions  they  supported  a  good  school  until  the  debtors 
to  their  fund  began  to  pay  their  interest  and  at  last  the 
principal  in  depreciated  currency.  The  debtors  had  re- 
ceived the  hard-earned  money  of  the  Schwenkfelders  and 
found  it  convenient  and  by  enactment  of  law,  legal  — 
though  not  right  —  to  repay  in  depreciated  paper  currency. 
This  depreciation  of  the  fund  was  an  unfortunate,  though 


132  The  Pennsylvania-Gerinan  Society. 

perhaps  unavoidable  accompaniment  of  the  struggle  for 
independence.  Through  this  shrinkage  the  capital  stock 
£800  contracted  to  less  than  £100  in  1793,  which  was 
offered  to  the  original  subscribers  or  their  heirs.  Of  this 
sum  less  than  £12  was  accepted,  the  rest  being  donated  to 
the  fund. 

In  1780  the  period  for  which  the  fund  was  originally 
collected  expired.  A  general  meeting  of  the  supporters 
was  held,  at  which  it  was  agreed  for  the  next  three  years 
to  leave  intact  the  capital  which,  through  the  accruing  in- 
terest, was  insufficient  to  meet  the  current  expenses  and 
which  at  the  time  was  not  readily  convertible  into  specie. 
They  divided  themselves  into  four  classes  to  be  taxed  pro 
rata  under  given  conditions  to  meet  the  running  expenses. 
An  inspector  was  also  elected  to  supervise  the  schools, 
and  it  was  agreed  that  no  child  should  be  allowed  to  attend 
school  that  did  not  know  the  alphabet.  This  plan  of  di- 
viding the  supporters  into  classes  and  of  thus  paying  the 
teachers,  etc.,  was  continued  until  1823,  when  the  original 
plan  of  the  schools  was  superseded  by  other  methods.  The 
fund  amounting  to  about  £146  became  the  nucleus  of  the 
literary  fund  as  it  exists  to-day  which  is  considered  in  a 
different  connection. 

This  school  system  reached  its  highest  efficiency  during 
1790-92  under  the  instruction  of  George  Carl  Stock,  who 
afterwards  served  as  a  Lutheran  minister.  In  August, 
1790,  an  agreement  was  entered  into  by  the  trustees  with 
George  Carl  Stock,  of  Halle,  as  teacher  in  Goshenhoppen 
for  one  year  at  £5  ($13.33)  P^''  month  with  free  dwelling 
and  fire-wood.  This  may  seem  a  low  salary  but  it  must 
be  remembered  that  George  Kriebel,  a  minister,  a  large 
landholder  and  a  man  of  means  taught  for  half  this  salary. 
Stock  agreed  to  teach  English,  German,  Latin,  Greek,  etc. 


Text-Books. 


133 


GRAMMATICA 

mit  cincm 
^arabigmatifiten  tint)  X)ia(0()ifd)(n 

tlROClMO. 

Sonfund  jwongigfle  edition, 

9Jiic  ftchcii&  blttt'cn&eii  S(t)iiftct» 
ab(t 
urn  mel^tttu  9kic{)tiflf  eit  tciQin 


CVM   PRIVILEGIIS 
Sia.CzC  MiiefUtis,  Regnm  Polnni'  >c  BorufSe, 
necnon^.l,ctl>tumSJ-;■>nl.l:e^^im,l^.n^u^g. 


4)  a  £  t  (£ 

3'  9?ct(cflunfl  t)e«  'aBdofcnbaufctf, 


Ciii 
iroftl  ciiiijcriArctci    tcmfiljcU 

%  %  £' 

tciitfdjci-   ©cbulcii. 


?.!'■  51  T-  C,    nil'l'i    l'irl,-ii    ->lrl(ii    <»ii(lin,iflir.  iiiij  Vc'f: 
ut'un.\cii.     Cuic  ''liiivdiiiii,,  fm-  rniifdji-  itAl  lUln. 

uiic  Dicil/iitii, 


(Jthturfl    tro  WiilJ.ul   aiiUiiuuci,     i?'!*. 


INAUGURAL 

Botanico-Medical  Differtatwn^ 

ON    THE 

Phytolacca  Decandra 

O  P 

LIN  NAilfS. 


Bv   BENJAMIN    SnULTZ. 
tr  fEKNsriyjiriy, 


I  PHILAOELrtllA, 

PRINTED  BY  THOMAS  DOBSON. 
aVtM   ITOHi-HOUIt.    •"  4''   ^■>^t»   »lCOItD-*Ta 

"'795- 


S    E    L    1:    C    T     /E 


t    VETE  R| 


TEST AMEN  TO 
II   I    S  T  O  R  1  i€. 


ilmiciuii  iinhuL.:il'.:r, 


NOVA      E  n  I  T  !  O, 

rRIORlBUS    MULTO    IMEKnAT10.-_ 

PHIT,  ADELPHIA 


SCHOOI,    BOOKS    USED    IN    THE     SCmvENKFELDER   SCHOOLS,     ALSO     DR. 
BENJAMIN  SCHULTZ'S  THESIS  ON  THE  POKE-WEED. 


134  '^^^^  Pennsylvania- German  Society. 

He  opened  the  school  which  he  was  wont  to  call  "  Our 
Academy,"  September  i,  1790,  where  the  present 
Schwenkfelder  meeting  house  in  Hosensack  stands  in  the 
new  school-house  just  erected  and  which  was  replaced  by 
a  new  house  in  1838.  The  school  was  continued  without 
intermission  seemingly  for  the  3^ear,  when  the  contract  was 
renewed  for  another  year,  but  for  some  unexplained  rea- 
son the  school  was  closed  at  the  end  of  April,  1792. 

The  following  words  are  quoted  from  a  circular  letter 
dated,  "  Philadelphia  County,  March,  1791,"  and  will  fur- 
nish some  interesting  data.  The  trustees  "  have  lately  and 
at  their  own  expense  erected  a  new  school-house  and  dwell- 
ing-house for  its  master  and  engaged  a  man  of  good  learn- 
ing and  fair  character  to  be  the  master  of  that  school  in 
which  children  of  parents  of  any  religious  denomination, 
English  or  German,  rich  or  poor,  may  be  taught  reading, 
writing,  cyphering  and  some  or  other  young  men  of  genius 
instructed  in  mathematics  and  the  learned  languages  and 
trained  up  to  become  ushers  or  assistants  to  this  or  any 
other  school  in  this  country.  Catechisms  and  other 
doctrinal  books  of  any  religious  school  shall  not  be  intro- 
duced in  this  school.  Parents  may  form  the  minds  of  their 
children  in  their  own  way  or  may  commit  them  to  the 
clergy  of  the  church  or  meeting  to  which  they  belong. 
The  master  of  the  school  shall  nevertheless  use  his  utmost 
endeavors  to  impress  on  their  tender  minds  the  fear  of 
God,  the  love  of  their  country  and  of  all  mankind.  This 
well-meant  school  is  undertaken  by  a  few  persons  of  but 
moderate  estates  on  whom  the  expense  of  supporting  and 
improving  it  will  fall  very  heavily.  The  trustees  flatter 
themselves  with  the  hope  that  it  will  meet  with  some  en- 
couragement from  the  benevolent  who  have  the  good  of 
the  growing  youth  of  this  country  at  heart  by  contributing 
their  mite  towards  this  purpose." 


Text-Books .  135 

Unfortunately  the  school  roll  has  not  been  located  and 
may  have  been  destroyed.  From  the  treasurer's  accounts 
it  is  evident  that  children  of  non-Schwenkfelder  families 
attended :  Isaac  Schultz,  John  Schultz,  Jacob  Yeakel, 
Susanna  Yeakel  are  known  to  have  attended.  John 
Krauss,  Christopher  Yeakel,  David  Yeakel  and  Andrew 
Yeakel,  the  sons  of  Balthasar,  probably  attended,  although 
there  is  no  positive  evidence  available  at  the  time  of  writing. 

Among  the  books  known  to  have  been  used  are  the  fol- 
lowing :  Cornelii  Nepotes,  Schreveliiis'  Greek  and  Latin 
Lexicon,  Sheridan'' s  English  Dictionary,  Guthrie's  Geo- 
graphical and  Historical  Grammar,  Gesner's  Latin  and 
German  Lexicon,  Latin  Selections  from  the  Old  Testament, 
also  two  globes,  a  terrestrial  and  a  celestial,  with  a  treatise 
on  the  same  by  Adams.  That  the  students  studied  Latin 
and  Greek  is  known  from  direct  testimony  to  that  effect 
and  from  the  Latin  letters  written  by  them  still  extant. 
Nor  were  these  Latin  letters  epistles  of  love  full  of  soft 
sentimentalities  and  glittering  generalities.  They  pro- 
pounded and  answered  questions  bearing  on  the  Bible,  its 
doctrines,  etc.  The  teacher  also  dictated  to  his  pupils  a 
series  of  propositions  bearing  on  revealed  theology  that 
were  written  out  in  full,  among  others,  by  Susanna  Yeakel, 
probably  the  daughter  of  Melchior,  a  farmer's  girl  of  fif- 
teen. Of  these  propositions,  28  treated  of  the  Bible  in 
general,  34  of  God,  25  of  the  Trinity,  9  of  creation,  10  of 
Providence,  7  of  angels. 

In  the  afternoon  of  New  Year's  day,  1791,  the  teacher 
read  a  paper,  practically  a  sermon,  based  on  2  Cor.  VI.  2 
in  the  school-house  before  his  pupils,  patrons  and  others. 
The  original,  still  preserved,  suggests  a  careful,  conscien- 
tious, methodical  and  God-fearing  man.  In  concluding  his 
remarks  he  spoke  directly  to  his  pupils  and  ended  as  fol- 


136  The  Pennsylvania- German  Society. 

lows  :  '*  The  Lord  grant  that  through  my  teaching  you 
may  be  trained  to  become  useful  members  of  human  so- 
ciety on  earth  and  what  is  most  important  to  become 
members  of  the  army  of  the  redeemed  in  the  unending 
eternity  beyond.  According  to  man's  expectations  and 
the  course  of  nature  I  shall  probably  pass  beyond  the 
grave  long  years  before  you.  What  a  joy  it  will  be,  my 
dear  children,  to  see  you  before  the  throne  of  God  when 
your  brief  course  is  run  and  before  the  seat  of  the  Lamb 
that  was  slain,  to  join  with  you  in  the  new  song  :  Holy, 
holy,  holy  Father,  Son  and  Holy  Spirit,  Amen,  So  let  it 
be." 

Shortly  ^before  the  Hosensack  Academy  was  finally 
closed  in  April,  1792,  George  Kriebel,  the  pastor,  paid  a 
visit  to  it  and  addressed  the  scholars  in  a  quasi-Baccalau- 
reate  sermon.  The  line  of  thought  is  indicated  by  the  fol- 
lowing brief  outline  gathered  from  his  own  fuller  notes  : 
Worthy  and  beloved  young  people  and  in  particular  the 
linguists  :  In  view  of  the  probability  that  the  present  school 
may  before  long  be  brought  to  a  close,  I  have  concluded 
to  present  a  few  matters  briefly  to  you. 

1.  The  consciousness  that  the  school  was  made  a  pos- 
sibility and  a  reality  through  sacrifice  by  members  of  our 
small  religious  body  in  the  hope  that  you  might  be  trained 
to  become  useful  in  various  relations  should  make  you  cir- 
cumspect in  your  conduct  lest  discouragement  be  produced 
among  those  who  aided  the  cause. 

2.  It  will  at  all  times  be  pleasing  to  God  and  helpful  to 
you  to  say  with  Samuel:  "Speak,  Lord!  thy  servant 
heareth." 

3.  In  choosing  a  profession,  strive  not  to  have  days  of 
ease,  or  to  avoid  heavy  toil,  or  to  win  glory  and  honor; 
rather  say  with  David:    "Shew  me  thy  ways,  O  Lord; 

) 


■  u 


1*^^ ->»•;:' T-- 


i 


'-^ 


o  '^ 

*—     ri  I 


o  z: 


Advice  to  Students,  137 

teach  me  thy  paths.  Lead  me  in  thy  truth  and  teach  me ; 
for  thou  art  the  God  of  my  salvation  ;  on  thee  do  I  wait  all 
the  day."     Ps.  XXV.  4,  5. 

4.  Do  not  allow  your  knowledge  to  make  you  vain- 
glorious or  proud.    Be  humble  and  seek  to  be  serviceable. 

5.  Stand  by  our  religious  society  or  rock  from  which 
you  have  sprung.     Do  not  abuse  what  you  have  received. 

6.  Avoid  all  heathen  writings  and  read  useful  and  edify- 
ing books,  in  particular  the  New  Testament  and  the 
writings  of  Casper  Schwenkfeld. 

When  the  school  system  of  their  own  was  abandoned  by 
the  Schwenkfelders,  they  joined  in  with  their  neighbors  in 
educational  efforts.  Upon  the  adoption  of  the  public  school 
system  some  of  them  feared  the  abridgment  of  personal 
liberty  and  the  secularization  of  the  schools,  but  they 
became  its  friends  and  have  continued  its  friends  ever 
since.  The  whole  life  shows  that  as  a  body  they  were 
close  friends  of  education  at  all  times.  Isaac  Schultz  doubt- 
less gave  a  fair  presentation  of  them  when  he  wrote  in 
1844:  **They  pay  great  attention  to  education,  to  the 
religious  and  moral  training  of  their  children.  Many  of 
them  possess  a  respectable  knowledge  of  the  learned  lan- 
guages, Latin,  etc.  There  is  scarcely  a  family  among 
them  that  does  not  possess  a  well-selected  and  neatly 
arranged  library  among  which  you  will  find  manuscript 
copies  from  their  learned  fathers."  It  must  not  be  over- 
looked that  some  were  opposed  to  schools  and  did  not  take 
kindly  to  an  advanced  education. 

A  revival  of  interest  in  education  by  the  Schwenkfelders 
as  a  body  has  manifested  itself  in  recent  years.  Accord- 
ingly their  General  Conference  in  October,  1891,  appointed 
a  committee  of  seven  members  to  take  into  consideration 
the  advisability  of  establishing  a  school  for  advanced  or 


138  The  Pennsylvania- German  Society. 

secondary  education.  The  outcome  was  that  "  Perkiomen 
Seminary  "  was  organized  and  put  into  active  operation  at 
Pennsburg,  Pa.,  in  the  fall  of  1892  under  the  principalship 
of  Reverend  Oscar  Schultz  Kriebel.  In  its  ten  years' 
existence  it  has  risen  to  the  front  rank  among  private 
secondary  schools  of  the  state  and  has  amply  repaid  itself 
in  the  work  accomplished.  To  quote  from  a  recent  cata- 
logue : 

*'  It  is  the  aim  of  the  school  to  furnish  our  worthy  young 
people  the  very  best  possible  educational  advantages  for 
the  least  possible  expense.  The  founders  of  the  school 
who  gave  so  liberally  of  their  thought  and  means  are 
Christian  men  and  women  who  believe  in  the  necessity  of 
a  thorough  and  symmetrical  development  of  all  the  powers 
of  mind  and  body  for  the  greatest  usefulness  and  service 
in  life.  It  is  the  purpose  of  the  management  to  carry  out 
the  idea  of  the  founders  in  such  a  way  that  the  young 
people  who  attend  the  school  may  receive  such  thorough 
training,  such  wholesome  development,  and  such  wise  and 
careful  direction  of  their  powers  and  activities  as  will  fit 
them  in  the  best  possible  manner  for  the  exacting  require- 
ments of  a  higher  course  of  training  or  the  actual  respon- 
sibilities of  life." 


A   REtIC  OF   BY-GONE  DAYS. 


CHAPTER  X. 

The  Schwenkfelders  as  Citizens. 

^***»T^  NDER  this  chapter  will  be  consid- 

fxT^  /7    V  /^^3^\^      ^^^^  ^^^^  Schwenkfelders  in  their 

x/ d\/V  IM^vt'  relation  to  the  government,  and 

more  particularly  with  respect  to 
the  question  of  bearing  arms.  In 
doing  this  it  will  be  proper  to  take 
a  preview  by  stating  that  they  were 
professing  adherents  of  the  views 
of  Schwenkfeld  even  with  respect 
to  this  relation  in  life.  They, 
therefore,  believed  in  following  the  «'  Golden  Rule  "  even 
in  the  management  of  the  civil  affairs  of  life.  They 
believed  that  the  spirit  directing  and  moulding  the  con- 
duct of  men  towards  their  fellows  should  be  the  spirit 
of  intercession,  edification,  service,  peace,  patience,  for- 
giveness, humility,  kindness,  truthfulness  and  justice. 
They  believed  in  the  right  of  free  speech  and  did 
not  hesitate  to  express  themselves  when  occasion  seemed 
to  suggest  a  necessity.  They  did  not  regard  it  incompat- 
ible  with   the   professions   of   a   Christian   to    hold  office, 

( 139 ) 


140  The  Pennsylvania- Germmi  Society. 

neither  did  they  deem  it  necessary  for  a  public  officer  to 
be  a  professing  Christian.  They  did  not  strive  for  public 
office,  since  they  preferred  the  freedom  of  private  life ; 
neither  did  they  in  general  refuse  to  serve  when  called 
upon.  It  was  with  them  a  matter  of  religious  faith  to  be 
obedient  to  those  in  authority,  and  they  always  did  obey 
when  matters  of  conscience  did  not  enter  into  the  question. 
They  were  opposed  to  war  and  oaths  and  dared  to  stand 
true  to  their  convictions,  even  though  the  community  and 
the  State  were  set  against  them  and  made  them  suffer  for 
their  fidelity  to  their  consciences.  A  study  of  the  details 
of  their  history  will  substantiate  these  statements,  but  as 
space  will  permit  no  more,  a  few  illustrative  instances  only 
can  be  referred  to. 

Their  pledge  of  allegiance,  noticed  in  a  different  con- 
nection, was  honestly  made  and  honestly  kept.  In  pursu- 
ance of  an  "  act  for  naturalizing  such  foreign  Protestants 
as  are  settled  or  shall  be  settled  in  any  of  the  colonies,"  a 
company  of  Schwenkfelders  took  and  subscribed  the  qual- 
ifications for  them  appointed  by  said  act  before  John  Kin- 
sey,  Thomas  Graeme  and  William  Till,  judges  of  the  said 
court  in  April,  1743.  The  records  show  that  later  others 
took  the  same  obligations. 

The  Indians  were  a  cause  of  great  concern  to  the  early 
settlers.  On  this  score  the  families  among  the  Schwenk- 
felders that  had  moved  to  Macungie  probably  endured  most 
hardships.  Isaac  Schultz  says  of  these:  "Three  enter- 
prising families,  Gregorius  Schultz  and  his  two  brothers- 
in-law,  John  and  Balzer  Yeakel,  ventured  in  their  march 
to  cross  the  mountains  into  the  so-called  *  Macungier 
Wilsteneiy  where  a  few  Indians  and  other  people  led  a 
miserable  existence  and  at  times  subjected  them  to  harsh 
treatment.     They  had  to  endure  more  hardships  than  their 


French  and  Indian    War.  141 

friends  in  Goshenhoppen  and  the  Lower  District.  They 
were  occasionally  put  in  terror  by  the  Indians,  but  they 
found  it  easier  to  live  in  peace  and  harmony  with  the  In- 
dians than  with  their  persecutors  in  the  Old  World,  who 
had  the  Bible  in  the  one  hand  and  the  sword  in  the  other 
hand."  In  anticipation  of  an  Indian  outbreak  they  sold 
their  homes  and  moved  into  the  Goshenhoppen  valley. 

During  the  French  and  Indian  War  the  location  of  the 
Schwenkfelders  was  such  that  they  escaped  the  terrors  of 
the  frontier  but  not  the  burden  of  making  defense  against 
the  Indians.  Christopher  Schultz  wrote  of  this  period : 
*'In  the  year  1755,  many  war  rumors  arose  in  this  and 
other  provinces,  and  towards  the  end  of  the  year  unfriendly 
Indians  made  frequent  attacks,  people  were  killed  and 
houses  were  laid  desolate.  It  became  necessary  to  place 
a  heavy  guard  along  the  exposed  frontier,  and  residents 
were  at  times  called  upon  to  come  to  the  rescue  in  resisting 
the  enemy.  Our  people  willingly  helped  to  bear  their  re- 
spective shares  of  the  burdens  that  fell  to  the  various  town- 
ships without  personally  taking  up  arms  against  the  enemy, 
a  substitute  being  placed  by  them  as  their  term  of  service 
came."  They  were  subjected  to  some  terrors,  although 
they  did  not  endure  any  special  hardships. 

The  feeling  through  the  Goshenhoppen  valley  during 
the  summer  of  1755  is  shown  by  the  following  incidents. 
Some  one  made  the  remark  that  many  Indians  were  at  the 
house  of  Reverend  Schneider  of  the  Catholic  mission. 
Philadelphia  soon  became  alarmed  at  the  report  that  there 
were  forty  Indians  at  one  place  and  thirty  at  another. 
The  governor  sent  a  committee  to  investigate,  who  re- 
ported that  there  were  Indian  beggars  —  six  warriors  with 
wives  and  children,  at  the  house  of  the  Reverend  Schneider. 
In  the  latter  part  of  October  a  rumor  came  to  Goshen- 


142  The  Pennsylvania-German  Society. 

an    dm  ^ 

SCHULTZ'    TRANSLATION   OF   HOPKINS'   ADDRESS   ON   THE  INDIANS. 


An  Unfounded  Rumor.  143 

hoppen  and  Falckner  Swamp  that  1,300  French  and  In- 
dians had  crossed  the  Susquehanna  at  Harris'  ferry  and 
were  coming  east.  During  the  night  while  a  heavy  rain 
was  falling,  the  report  was  spread  with  such  success  that  the 
next  morning  a  large  body  of  men  was  ready  to  go  at  once 
and  "devour  the  invaders  like  bread"  as  the  newspaper 
of  the  times  states  it.  To  their  mingled  joy,  sorrow  and 
disgust  these  brave  men  found  out  that  they  had  been  mis- 
led by  an  unfounded  rumor.  They  came  home,  wetter, 
sadder,  madder  men.  By  their  shooting  and  shouting 
they  alarmed  the  uninformed  to  such  an  extent  that  they 
began  to  flee  hither  and  thither,  passing  and  repassing  like 
bees  from  an  upset  hive  until  they  too  learned  that  Dame 
Fame  had  told  a  tale.  It  was  probably  of  this  period  that 
Isaac  Schultz  wrote  :  *'  Alarm  came  at  one  time  with  such 
force  across  the  hills  into  the  lower  valleys  of  Hereford 
that  the  residents  suddenly  began  to  prepare  for  flight. 
They  gathered  their  valuables ;  the  kneading-troughs 
with  dough  and  flour  in  them  were  snatched  from  the 
wondering  bakers  and  with  the  valuables  placed  hurriedly 
on  the  wagons ;  the  fires  were  extinguished ;  the  guns 
were  shouldered  and  off  they  started  along  the  Maxatawny 
road  in  the  direction  of  Philadelphia.  They  stopped  when 
they  came  to  the  top  of  a  hill  to  wait  for  some  neighbors. 
Here  they  were  met  by  their  old  friend  Christopher  Schultz 
when  they  decided  to  investigate  the  cause  of  the  alarm. 
After  looking  into  the  matter  they  learned  that  they  too 
had  followed  a  false  rumor." 

The  condition  of  things  at  this  time  is  thus  described  in 
Memorials  of  the  Moravian  Churchy  Vol.  I.,  p.  193  : 
"The  line  of  the  Blue  Mountains  from  the  Delaware  to 
the  Susquehanna  became  the  scene  of  the  carnival  which 
the   exasperated  savages   held  with  torch  and  tomahawk 


144  "^^^  Pennsylvania-German  Society. 

during  the  latter  part  of  the  winter,  1755.  The  defense- 
less settlers  were  taken  in  a  snare.  They  were  harassed 
by  an  unseen  foe  by  day  and  by  night.  Some  were  shot 
down  at  the  plow,  some  were  butchered  at  the  fireside  ; 
men,  women  and  children  were  promiscuously  toma- 
hawked or  scalped  or  hurried  away  into  distant  captivity 
for  torture  or  for  coveted  ransom.  There  was  literally  a 
pillar  of  fire  by  night  and  a  pillar  of  cloud  by  day  going 
up  along  the  horizon,  marking  the  progress  of  the  relentless 
invaders  as  they  dealt  out  death  and  pillage  and  confla- 
gration and  drove  before  them  in  midwinter's  flight  hun- 
dreds of  homeless  wanderers  who  scarce  knew  where  to 
turn  for  safety  or  for  succor  in  the  swift  destruction  that 
came  upon  them." 

That  the  Schwenkfelders  did  their  share  of  work  thus 
thrust  on  the  more  fortunate  is  shown  by  the  fact  that,  with 
others,  they  sent  flour  and  other  provisions  to  Bethlehem  to 
relieve  distress,  that  Christopher  Schultz  and  John  Mack, 
a  Mennonite,  joined  in  writing  a  strong  letter  of  appeal  for 
help  to  their  brethren  in  Towamencin,  Christopher  Weber, 
Casper  Kriebel,  Christopher  Dresher  and  Joseph  Lukens  ; 
that  David  Schultz,  the  surveyor,  a  Schwenkfelder,  served 
as  one  of  the  trustees  of  the  money  raised  to  put  into  the 
field  in  April  and  May,  1756,  «<  The  Maxatawny  and  Alle- 
mangle  Independent  Guard." 

About  this  time  the  Friends  began  to  deliberate  on  the 
formation  of  "  The  Friendly  Association  for  regaining 
and  preserving  peace  with  the  Indians  by  pacific  measures." 
The  Schwenkfelders  harmonizing  with  the  principles  and 
purposes  of  the  association  formed  a  union  among  them- 
selves, November  13, 1756,  and  subscribed  £206,  the  interest 
of  which  was  devoted  to  such  object.  December  i,  1756, 
Christopher  Schultz  and  Casper  Kriebel  attended  a  grand 


French  and  Indian  War.  145 

cvl//^  oJLy  .^^  /7^7^^.*;^«.  .^w^  /  los--  n .  yi, 
a^X^^^^^yjy/ ..  , 6--3-f 

^^v^U   <y;^,  ,,,^  /^;   /;^5;^ ^  WS-fi-  o 


(^^•f:;7Z^i^r'^  ,  -y:;^»>y=«-  '^-*    ■^^   Sf^^^^-t^^-—  ^rt-nO^f^^^  "Z/rt^^^  -^^^l^^^n-y^ 


auditor's  report  on  money  raised  for  "the  FRIENDI.Y  associa- 
tion "  ;  showing  also  handwriting  of  david  schultz, 
the  surveyor. 


146  The  Pennsylvania- German  Society. 

meeting  of  the  contributors  to  such  fund  in  the  Friends 
school-house,  Philadelphia.  Receipts  show  that  £105, 
12,  o  was  paid  to  the  said  association,  June  7,  1757,  and 
£109,  8,  o,  January  9,  1758. 

Concerning  this  effort  Christopher  Schultz  wrote : 
*'  The  Quakers  as  well  as  we  and  others  who  have  scru- 
ples of  conscience  against  taking  up  arms  against  an 
enemy  were  accused  of  not  being  willing  to  bear  their  due 
share  of  the  common  burdens.  They  took  pity  on  the 
miserable  condition  of  the  inhabitants  along  the  frontier 
and  felt  that  the  Indian  war  arose  on  account  of  the  unjust 
treatment  of  the  Indians  and  was  carried  on  under  unholy 
purposes  to  the  serious  detriment  of  the  province.  With 
these  things  in  mind  they  formed  a  union  among  themselves 
and  invited  others  to  join  them  with  the  purpose  of  doing 
what  was  possible  to  restore  peace  with  the  Indians  and  to 
preserve  the  same  in  the  future,  knowing  that  such  effort 
and  object  could  only  be  accomplished  by  heavy  labors 
and  expense." 

When  in  1759,  Conrad  Weiser  as  agent  appointed  by 
Brigadier  General  Stanwix  advertised  for  a  number  of 
wagons  to  carry  provisions  for  the  government  to  Bed- 
ford, Hereford  Township  responded.  Melchior  Shultz, 
Melchior  Wiegner,  David  Meschter,  Christopher  Schultz, 
Schwenkfelders,  aided  —  the  latter  as  secretary  and  com- 
mittee to  go  to  Reading  and  make  the  contract  with  the 
agent  Conrad  Weiser. 

From  a  letter  by  Christopher  Schultz,  dated  December  i, 
1760,  we  learn  that  after  consulting  friends  concerning 
propositions  made  by  the  Friends  it  was  agreed  to  con- 
tribute about  half  of  the  money  raised  by  the  Schwenk- 
felders towards  release  of  poor  prisoners  and  that  the 
"  rest  could  be  left  for  further  purposes,  necessities  and  con- 


Aid  Jor  Poor  Prisoners,  147 

siderations."  At  the  same  time  he  returned  also  to  his  friend 
Pemberton,  ''Remarks  on  the  behavior  of  Paupanhoal, 
having  copied  and  translated  the  same  into  high  Dutch." 


S^c<^ac£^,U-Jc /^^^  ^^  ^^^^/  ^^  ^  '^  ^^ 


LETTER  FROM  ISRAEI,  PEMBERTON  TO  CHRISTOPHER  SCHULTZ. 

In  1762,  George  Kriebel  and  Christopher  Schultz  were 
present  at  the  Indian  treaties  at  Easton   and   Lancaster. 


148  The  Pennsylvania- German  Society. 

Other  treaties  were  probably  also  attended  by  them. 
There  is  still  preserved  a  paper  answering  the  question, 
"  Why  should  citizens  attend  the  treaties  with  the  Indians," 
in  which  high  ground  is  taken  with  respect  to  this  question. 
Thus  the  Schwenkfelders  in  the  spirit  of  true  patriots 
thought  and  toiled  and  sacrificed  for  the  general  welfare. 
They  gave  an  unequivocal  testimony  in  favor  of  honest 
dealing  with  the  red  man  and  thus  placed  themselves 
squarely  on  the  side  of  right. 

The  American  Revolution  brought  perplexity,  distress 
and  many  privations  to  the  Schwenkfelders,  although  they 
as  in  other  cases  fared  better  than  others,  and  compara- 
tively speaking  their  lines  fell  in  pleasant  places.  In  ap- 
proaching this  period  of  transition  we  must  remember  thefol- 
lowing  facts  :  they  had  secured  the  permission  of  the  crown 
of  England  to  settle  in  Pennsylvania  before  migrating  in 
1734;  they  had  promised  and  engaged  to  be  faithful  to  the 
proprietor  and  strictly  to  observe  the  laws  of  the  province 
and  those  of  England.  George  Heebnerand  Christopher 
Schultz,  for  themselves  and  others,  with  representatives  of 
other  faiths  had  said  in  an  address  to  Robert  Hunter  Morris, 
the  Lieutenant  Governor  in  1754:  "  We  know  very  well 
that  we  can  not  give  sufficient  thanks  to  the  Almighty  for 
having  conveyed  us  into  such  a  country,  and  under  so 
mild  a  government  where  the  best  privileges  in  the  known 
world  are  established."  They  had  always  sought  to  live 
as  dutiful  subjects  should,  mindful  of  the  promises  they 
had  made.  As  careful  and  intelligent  observers  of,  the 
affairs  of  the  provinces  they  saw  the  drift  of  things,  and 
hoped  the  threatened  danger  and  disaster  might  be  averted. 
On  Memorial  Day,  1774,  Christopher  Schultz  said  :  "  The 
mighty  ones  of  the  British  Kingdom  assail  our  most  valued 
liberties  and  we  seem  to  be  on  the  verge  of  a  great  change." 


Fealty  to  King  George  III.  149 

Parting  even  from   an  adopted  parent  country  gave  pain 
to  them. 

On  the  second  of  July,  1774,  ^  nieeting  of  prominent  resi- 
dents of  Berks  County  was  held  in  the  Court  House  at 
Reading,  which  Christopher  Schultz  probably  attended, 
and  at  which  he  and  six  others  were  appointed  as  a  com- 
mittee to  represent  the  county.  At  this  meeting  the  fol- 
lowing, among  other  resolutions,  was  adopted  :  *'  That  the 
inhabitants  of  this  county  do  owe  and  will  pay  due  alle- 
giance to  our  rightful  Sovereign,  King  George  the  Third." 
Five  of  the  chosen  committee,  among  whom  was  Christo- 
pher Schultz,  attended  a  provincial  meeting  of  deputies 
in  Philadelphia,  on  the  fifteenth  of  July,  where,  among 
other  resolutions,  the  following  was  unanimously  adopted  : 
**  We  acknowledge  ourselves  and  the  inhabitants  of  this 
province,  liege  subjects  of  his  Majesty,  King  George  the 
Third,  to  whom  they  and  we  owe  and  will  bear  true  and 
faithful  allegiance."  But  the  war  cloud  grew.  In  De- 
cember, i774»  a  county  committee  of  observation  was 
chosen  at  Reading,  for  Berks  County,  among  whom  was 
Christopher  Schultz.  This  committee  met  and  unani- 
mously agreed  to  a  proposed  provincial  convention,  and 
appointed  a  committee  of  seven  to  represent  the  county, 
among  which  committee  Christopher  Schultz  was  found 
again.  He  and  Melchior  Wagner,  a  delegate  from  Phila- 
delphia County,  also  a  Schwenkfelder,  attended  the  pro- 
vincial convention  for  the  province  of  Pennsylvania,  in 
January,  1775.  A  series  of  strong  resolutions  was  adopted, 
among  which  was  the  following:  "Resolved,  unani- 
mously that  it  is  the  earnest  wish  and  desire  of  this  con- 
vention to  see  harmony  restored  between  Great  Britain 
and  the  colonies,  *  *  *  but  if  the  British  administration 
should  attempt  to  force  a  submission  to  the   late  arbitrary 


150  The  Pennsylvania- Ge7'man  Society. 

acts  of  the  British  Parliament,  in  such  a  situation  we  hold 
it  our  indispensable  duty  to  resist  such  force,  and  at  every 
hazard  to  defend  the  rights  and  liberties  of  America."  In 
voting  for  this  and  other  resolutions,  Schultz  and  Wagner 
undoubtedly  represented  the  mind  of  the  Schwenkfelders 
in  general  on  the  issues  at  stake. 

On  the  nineteenth  of  April,  1775,  the  British  comman- 
der at  Lexington  gave  the  word  "Fire,"  to  his  soldiers, 
and  thus  by  the  seven  deaths  that  resulted  among  the 
Americans,  caused  all  the  provinces  to  rise  in  arms  against 
the  mother  country.  In  a  letter  to  Germany,  dated  July 
22,  1775,  Christopher  Schultz  describes  the  battle  of  Lex- 
ington and  then  continues  as  follows:  "Since  the  first 
blood  was  shed  by  the  British  you  can  not  believe  what  a 
flame  of  war-spirit  like  a  lightning  stroke  has  set  on  fire 
all  our  provinces  and  caused  them  to  glow.  All  are 
armed  in  full  battle  array.  In  cities  even  the  little  boys 
form  companies  and  conduct  military  exercises.  Ducking 
and  stooping  and  guarding  of  words  must  be  studiously 
practiced  if  great  danger  and  the  military  roll  are  to  be 
avoided,  which  latter  our  people  have  thus  far  escaped." 

This  wave  of  militarism  and  wrath  must  have  had  a 
tendency  to  hasten  crystallization  of  sentiments  bearing 
on  the  relation  between  England  and  the  colonies.  It 
brought  out  into  still  bolder  relief  the  leading  factions  — 
those  favoring  and  those  opposing  war  with  the  mother 
country.  Besides  these  two  elements  there  was  another 
class,  numerous,  respectable,  divergent  in  minor  details,  who 
from  religious  motives  alike  were  opposed  to  the  bearing  of 
arms  —  the  Friends,  Dunkers,  Mennonites,  the  Schwenk- 
felders and  others.  These  added  another  serious  problem 
to  the  perplexities  of  those  in  power.  The  people  in  gen- 
eral could  scarcely  reconcile  themselves  to  the  feelings  of 


JVon-  Combatants. 


151 


the  "  non-militants"  and  were  often  led  to  show  their  dis- 
approval by  acts  of  violence  in  private  life,  by  over-offi- 
ciousness  in  public  life.  A  Schwenkfelder  chronicler  of 
the  times  says:  "  For  those  citizens  of  the  province  who 
at  the  breaking  out  of  the  war  did  not  take  up  arms,  the 
prospect  was  often  full  of  fear  and  dread.  The  mad  rab- 
ble said  :  '  If  we  must  march  to  the  field  of  battle,  he  who 
will  not  take  up  arms  must  first  be  treated  as  an  enemy.'  " 

A  respectable  number  of  inhabitants  of  Berks  County, 
who  were  conscientiously  opposed  to  bearing  arms  held  a 
meeting  at  Reading,  September  i,  1775.  In  a  letter 
transmitting  the  resolutions  adopted  by  the  meeting  to  the 
Committee  of  Safety  in  Philadelphia,  William  Reeser,  who, 
by  the  way,  was  an  intimate  friend  of  Christopher  Shultz, 
used  these  words:  "Inclosed  is  a  copy  of  the  resolves 
entered  into  by  the  deputies  of  a  considerable  number  of 
inhabitants  of  this  county  as  are  conscientiously  scrupulous 
of  taking  up  arms,  though  at  the  same  time  fully  sensible 
of  the  justice  of  our  cause  and  willing  as  far  as  in  them 
lies  to  contribute  to  its  support.  *  *  *  I  have  the  strongest 
assurance  from  the  numbers  of  the  subscription  that  they 
will  ever  cheerfully  contribute  their  proportion  towards  the 
safety  and  welfare  of  the  public."  The  list  of  delegates  is 
not  known  to  their  writer,  neither  is  it  possible  with  present 
knowledge  to  affirm  the  presence  or  absence  of  Schwenk- 
felders,  although  circumstances  indicate  their  attendance 
and  the  resolutions  certainly  voiced  their  sentiments. 

On  the  seventeenth  of  May,  1776,  a  day  of  prayer  was 
observed  by  the  Schwenkfelders  at  the  call  of  Congress 
for  such  day  of  general  prayer.  Christopher  Schultz  led 
the  services.  He  read  Leviticus  XXVI.,  and  by  way  of  in- 
troduction referred  to  and  briefly  explained  Amos  III.  6: 
"  Shall  there  be  evil  in  the  city  and  the  Lord  hath  not 


152  The  Pennsylvania- Ger7nan  Society. 

done  it?"  He  maintained  that  the  ministers  of  the  Eng- 
lish court  were  instruments  in  the  hands  of  God  like 
Nebuchadnezzar  to  punish  the  American  people  for  their 
sins.  His  theme  was  :  Seeking  refuge  by  penitence  in 
God  the  Creator,  Ruler  and  Supporter  through  Christ  the 
Lord  and  Protector  of  believers. 

Space  scarcely  permits  even  a  reference  to  the  Declara- 
tion of  Independence  and  the  consequent  increased  pres- 
sure on  the  Schwenkf elders,  but  attention  must  be  called 
to  the  following  declaration  and  agreement  drafted  prob- 
ably by  Christopher  Schultz  and  in  all  likelihood  used  as 
indicated,  although  positive  proof  of  the  latter  is  wanting. 

A  Candid  Declaration  of  Some  So-called  Schwenk- 

FELDERS  Concerning  Present  Militia 

Affairs,  May  i,  1777. 

We  who  are  known  by  the  name  Schwenkfelders  hereby 
confess  and  declare  that  for  conscience'  sake  it  is  impos- 
sible for  us  to  take  up  arms  and  kill  our  fellowmen  ;  we 
also  believe  that  so  far  as  knowledge  of  us  goes  this  fact 
is  well  known  concerning  us. 

We  have  hitherto  been  allowed  by  our  lawmakers  to 
enjoy  this  liberty  of  conscience. 

We  have  felt  assured  of  the  same  freedom  of  conscience 
for  the  future  by  virtue  of  the  public  resolution  of  Con- 
gress and  our  Assembly. 

We  will  with  our  fellow  citizens  gladly  and  willingly 
bear  our  due  share  of  the  common  civil  taxes  and  burdens 
excepting  the  bearing  of  arms  and  weapons. 

We  can  not  in  consequence  of  this  take  part  in  the  ex- 
isting militia  arrangements,  though  we  would  not  with- 
draw ourselves  from  any  other  demands  of  the  govern- 
ment. 


Refusal  to  Bear  Arms.  153 

Whereas,  at  present  through  contempt  of  the  manifested 
divine  goodness  and  through  other  sins,  heavy  burdens, 
extensive  disturbances  by  war  and  divers  military  regula- 
tions are  brought  forth  and  continued. 

Whereas,  we  on  the  first  of  this  month  made  a  candid 
declaration  concerning  present  military  arrangements  to 
the  effect  that  we  can  not  on  account  of  conscience  take 
part  in  said  military  affairs  and 

Whereas,  it  seems  indeed  probable  that  military  service 
will  be  exacted  from  many  of  our  people  and  that  on  re- 
fusal to  render  such  service  heavy  fines  will  be  imposed. 

Therefore^  the  undersigned  who  adhere  to  the  apostolic 
doctrines  of  the  sainted  Casper  Schwenkfeld  and  who  seek 
to  maintain  the  same  by  public  services  and  by  instruction 
of  the  young  have  mutually  agreed,  and  herewith  united 
themselves  to  this  end  that  they  will  mutually  with  each 
other  bear  such  fines  as  may  be  imposed  on  account  of  re- 
fusal for  conscience'  sake  to  render  military  service  in  case 
deadly  weapons  are  carried  and  used.  Those  on  whom 
such  burdens  may  fall  will  render  a  strict  account  to  the 
managers  of  the  Charity  Fund  in  order  that  steps  may  be 
taken  to  a  proper  adjustment. 

Coschehoppe,  May  2,  1777. 

A  few  weeks  previous  to  this,  March  31,  1777,  Chris- 
topher Schultz  was  appointed  a  justice  of  the  peace.  Was 
this  a  bribe  in  guise  to  stop  his  mouth?  It  is  to  be  regretted 
that  no  positive  reliable  information  is  at  hand  respecting 
the  acceptance  or  non-acceptance  of  the  commission.  Non- 
filing of  the  commission  in  the  proper  county  office,  the 
absence  of  records  by  "  Christopher  Schultz,  Justice  of  the 
Peace,"  silence  in  the  various  historical  sketches  and  Schultz 
manuscripts  and  the  general  bearing  of  the  Schwenkfelders 


154  '^^^^  Pennsylvania- Gei- man  Society. 

towards  the  government  in  general  and  the  Revolutionary- 
War  element  in  particular  furnish  very  strong  circum- 
stantial evidence  to  the  effect  that  Christopher  Schultz  did 
not  accept  the  office. 

Although  great  hardships  had  already  befallen  the 
Schwenkfelders  with  many  others,  their  lot  was  made 
much  more  grievous  by  the  general  militia  act  of  1777 
passed  to  restrain  the  insolence  of  Tories.  The  Pennsyl- 
vania Assembly,  on  the  thirteenth  of  June,  passed  a  strin- 
gent law  which  among  other  matters  required  all  male  white 
inhabitants  above  the  age  of  eighteen  to  take  and  subscribe 
before  a  justice  of  the  peace  an  oath  in    the    following 

form:   "I do  swear  (or  affirm)  that  I  renounce  and 

refuse  all  allegiance  to  George  the  Third,  King  of  Great 
Britain,  his  heirs  and  successors  :  and  that  I  will  be  faith- 
ful and  bear  true  allegiance  to  the  Commonwealth  of 
Pennsylvania  a  free  and  independent  State,  and  that  I 
will  not  at  any  time  do  or  cause  to  be  done  any  matter  or 
thing  that  will  be  prejudicial  or  injurious  to  the  freedom 
and  independence  thereof,  as  declared  by  Congress,  and 
also,  that  I  will  discover  and  make  known  to  some  one 
justice  of  the  peace  of  said  state  all  treasons  or  traitorous 
conspiracies  which  I  now  know  or  hereafter  shall  know  to 
be  formed  against  this  or  any  of  the  United  States  of 
America."  The  law  also  provided  that  every  person  refus- 
ing or  neglecting  to  take  and  subscribe  the  said  oath  or 
affirmation  "  shall  during  the  time  of  such  neglect  or  refusal 
be  incapable  of  holding  any  office  of  place  or  trust  in  the 
state,  serving  on  juries,  suing  for  any  debts,  electing  or 
being  elected,  buying  or  selling,  or  transferring  any  lands, 
tenements  or  hereditaments  and  shall  be  disarmed."  The 
law  further  states  that  "  every  person  who  shall  travel  out 
of  the  county  or  city  in  which  he  usually  resides  without 


The   Test  Act.  155 

the  certificate  (of  his  oath)  may  be  suspected  to  be  a  spy 
and  to  hold  principles  inimical  to  the  United  States  and 
shall  be  taken  before  one  of  the  justices  who  shall  tender 
to  him  the  oath  or  affirmation  and  upon  refusal  to  take  the 
said  oath  or  affirmation  the  justice  shall  commit  him  to  the 
common  jail  there  to  remain  without  bail  until  he  shall  take 
and  subscribe  the  said  oath  or  produce  a  certificate  that  he 
has  already  done  so." 

This  "test  act,"  as  the  above  law  was  popularly 
known,  went  into  operation  on  the  first  of  July,  1777,  and 
before  a  month  had  passed  was  used  to  harass  the  Schwenk- 
felders.  George  Kriebel,  one  of  the  number,  was  illegally 
imprisoned  at  Easton  on  charges  preferred  by  his  neigh- 
bors. On  the  twelfth  of  August,  his  friend  Christopher 
Schultz  drafted  a  strong  letter  to  his  old-time  friend  Sebas- 
tian Levan,  of  Maxatawny,  who,  as  one  of  the  members  of 
the  Assembly,  had  helped  to  pass  the  test  act.  On  the 
thirteenth,  Schultz  went  to  Philadelphia  to  appeal  to  the 
proper  authorities.  He  did  not  go  in  vain,  for  on  the 
fifteenth  of  August  the  Supreme  Executive  Council  took 
action  on  the  case  and  the  presumption  is  that  George 
Kriebel  was  soon  after  released.  The  letter  of  Schultz  is 
given  in  the  Appendix.  Further  details  are  given  in 
Colonial  Records^  XL,  269,  and  Pennsylvania  Archives^ 
v.,  432  and  525.  Christopher  Schultz  drafted  a  letter  to 
his  friends  in  Germany,  December  27,  1777,  from  which 
the  following  words  are  culled:  "What  unrest,  danger 
and  affliction  have  befallen  us  through  the  fortunes  of  war 
can  not  well  be  described.  *  *  *  Rash,  bold,  inexperi- 
enced, conscienceless  heads  found  means  through  the 
upheaval  not  only  to  draw  the  government  of  Pennsylvania 
into  their  own  hands,  but  also  to  maintain  the  same,  con- 
trary to  the  will  and  mind  of  all  people  of  moderation.    On 


156  The  Pennsylvania- German  Society. 

account  of  the  war  all  things  go  wrong ;  the  demands, 
injunctions  and  forcible  extortions  can  scarcely  be  told 
which  continually  plague  those  that  do  not  blow  the  horn 
of  the  war-party.  Heavy  fines  are  imposed  for  non-per- 
formance of  military  service.  In  spite  of  all  this  we  have 
not  allowed  ourselves  to  be  forced  into  the  war." 

We  gain  a  glimpse  at  the  condition  of  things  in  connec- 
tion with  the  celebration  of  Memorial  Day,  1777.  This 
year  the  Schwenkfelders,  contrary  to  custom,  met  at  two 
places  simultaneously — near  Palm,  in  Upper  Hanover,  and 
in  Towamencin.  Christopher  Schultz  said  on  this  occa- 
sion :  "  We  have  made  use  of  this  day  for  more  than  forty 
years  to  meet  and  recall  together  the  manifested  blessings 
of  God  and  to  exhort  one  another  to  gratitude,  but  the 
period  of  rest  seems  for  the  present  to  have  reached  its 
time  of  change.  We  have  the  terrible  tumult  of  war  be- 
fore our  ears  and  near  our  very  doors.  It  has  even  come 
to  pass  that  a  new  law  has  been  passed  according  to  which 
we  who  live  in  different  counties  do  not  have  the  right  to 
meet.  O  that  we  might  properly  benefit  by  these  things, 
confess  our  guilt  before  God,  humble  ourselves  before  Him 
and  move  His  heart  to  pity  by  a  proper  return  with  the 
Prodigal  Son  !  He  surely  would  grant  us  protection  as  he 
has  shown  it  to  us  unworthy  ones  until  now."  George 
Kriebel  referred  to  this  occasion  in  an  address  on  Memo- 
rial Day,  1793,  in  which  he  said  he  regarded  it  one  of  the 
most  important  days  in  their  American  history:  "English 
armies  were  in  Philadelphia  at  the  time  and  made  frequent 
incursions  into  the  farming  sections,  occasionally  quite  a 
distance.  On  account  of  the  many  reports  about  the  army 
we  were  uneasy  about  our  families  because  in  some  cases 
only  wife  and  children  or  even  only  the  children  were  at 
home.  We  considered  it,  therefore,  advisable  to  dismiss 
at  noon  and  return  to  our  homes." 


Appeal  to  the  Assembly.  157 

A  glimpse  at  the  general  conduct  and  reputation  of  the 
Schwenkfelders  is  afforded  by  the  following  letter  of 
George  Bryan,  Vice-President  of  the  Supreme  Executive 
Council,  to  Colonel  John  Wetzel,  of  Northampton,  dated 
Lancaster,  May  22,  1778:  '■'■Sir:  The  Moravians  and 
Swenkfelders  have  been  very  urgent  with  Assembly  to 
relax  the  Test  and  free  them  from  the  abjuration  part. 
The  claim  of  the  King  of  Great  Britain  forbids  anything 
like  this  being  done.  When  that  prince  shall  renounce  his 
claim  it  will  be  time  enough  to  reconsider  the  Test.  How- 
ever, as  these  people  are  not  to  be  feared,  either  as  to  num- 
bers or  malice,  it  is  the  wish  of  government  not  to  distress 
them  by  any  unequal  fines,  or  by  calling  them  without 
special  occasion  happens,  to  take  the  oath  at  all.  The 
disabilities  ensuing  upon  their  own  neglect  are  heavy,  and 
will  without  further  pressing  (which  may  be  termed  rigor 
by  people  in  general,  persecution  by  themselves)  operate 
strongly  upon  them.  On  these  grounds,  we  wish  it  to  be 
understood  that  Council  and  Assembly  desires  to  avoid 
any  noise  from  these  people  above  mentioned,  and  to  have 
them  dealt  with  as  others  in  regard  to  the  delinquency  in 
the  militia.  Your  prudent  advice  to  your  friends  and  dep- 
uties, without  exposing  these  lines  to  the  knowledge  of  the 
petitioners,  will  serve  the  public  interest  and  oblige,  Your 
very  obed't  serv't  G.  B."  A  Schwenkfelder  writer  says 
that  when,  in  1778,  the  Assembly  set  a  day  when  people 
would  either  have  to  take  the  test  or  be  forever  excluded 
from  all  the  rights  of  citizenship,  the  Schwenkfelders 
finally  submitted  in  view  of  the  fact  that  the  requirement 
pertained  only  to  the  duties  of  citizenship ;  that  it  came 
from  the  power  that  had  to  give  protection,  and  that  it 
was  a  duty  of  every  soul  to  be  subject  unto  the  higher 
powers. 


158  The  Pennsylvania- German  Society. 

Christopher  Schultz  penned  a  letter  to  friends  in  Ger- 
many, in  1779,  ^"  which  he  used  these  words:  "To  the 
glory  of  God  we  must  say  that  His  protecting  hand  has 
been  over  us  in  such  a  fatherly  way  that,  notwithstanding 
frequent  fearful  prospects,  urgent  want,  severe  threats  and 
even  extortions  by  those  in  authority,  it  is  customary  for 
our  people  to  say  as  they  meet  in  conversation,  '  no  one 
has  any  reason  for  complaint,  he  ought  rather  to  thank 
God  who  has  always  had  ways  and  means  of  escape  for  us 
even  if  at  times  punishment  befell  us.'  The  war  party  has 
thus  far  not  succeeded  in  forcing  any  of  our  people  to  en- 
ter the  military  lines  although  all  males  between  18  and  53 
were  enrolled  in  the  militia  classes,  but  exorbitant  sums 
must  be  paid  to  escape  such  service."  The  same  thoughts 
were  repeated  in  a  letter  written  in  1783  signed  by  a  num- 
ber of  the  leading  Schwenkfelders.  Space  forbids  further 
reference  to  other  interesting  material  in  verification  of 
these  extracts. 

This  does  not  imply  that  no  descendants  of  the  immi- 
grants took  arms,  for  we  know  that  Balzer  Heydrick  was 
a  captain,  and  that  his  brothers  George  and  Abraham  Hey- 
drick rendered  some  service,  but  the  probability  is  that  at 
that  time  they  were  not  taking  any  part  in  the  organized 
religious  services  as  conducted  by  the  Schwenkfelders  and 
consequently  not  looked  upon  as  being  part  of  them. 
Neither  is  it  implied  that  Schwenkfelders  did  not  aid  the 
cause  of  freedom.  In  illustration  of  this  the  following 
by  the  antiquarian  Abraham  H.  Cassel  is  quoted  from  His- 
torical Sketches  published  by  the  Historical  Society  of 
Montgomery  County  :  *'  George  Anders,  a  member  of  the 
Schwenkfelder  sect  then  living  on  a  farm,  long  since  known 
as  the  Meschter  farm,  had  two  very  fine  horses  and  so  also 
had  his  friend  and   neighbor  Abraham  Kriebel.     These, 


Continental  Requisitions.  159 

together  with  their  handsome  new  wagon,  just  from  the 
wheelwright,  were  pressed  in  the  service  of  the  Conti- 
nental Army.  Anders  felt  such  a  tender  concern  for  his 
pet  horses  that  he  could  hardly  let  them  go,  fearing  that 
they  might  not  be  properly  cared  for.  He,  therefore, 
offered  his  son  Abraham,  then  eighteen  years  old,  to  go 
with  the  horses  as  their  groom  or  teamster  or  driver.  The 
offer  was  of  course  gladly  accepted.  After  he  had  served 
awhile  and  had  gained  the  confidence  of  the  superior  offi- 
cers he  was  sometimes  sent  considerable  distances  with  this 
team  for  various  commodities.  So  on  one  occasion  he 
thought  to  take  advantage  of  their  confidence  and  at- 
tempted to  make  his  escape  with  the  team,  but  he  dared 
not  come  home  for  fear  of  being  arrested.  He  was  there- 
fore making  his  way  to  Goshenhoppen,  in  Berks  County, 
where  many  Schwenkfelders  lived,  to  his  uncle,  George 
Kriebel.  But  he  was  pursued  and  overtaken  before  he 
reached  there,  by  the  Superintendent  of  Transport.  He 
escaped  punishment  by  artfully  pleading  that  he  had  lost 
his  way  and  became  so  bewildered  as  not  to  know  where 
he  was.  As  he  was  yet  so  young  and  was  supposed  to  be 
inexperienced  about  the  country,  the  officer  believed  his 
story  and  therefore  merely  ordered  him  back  again  without 
any  further  punishment.  He  then  served  till  the  army  was  so 
far  removed  that  his  further  services  could  be  dispensed 
with.  Then  he  got  an  honorable  discharge,  and  came 
home  with  the  wagon  and  all  the  horses  in  splendid  con- 
dition." 

At  the  organization  of  the  society  in  1782  the  position  of 
the  Schwenkfelders  was  so  well  known  that  seemingly  it 
was  taken  for  granted  and  for  many  years  action  was  but 
rarely  taken  in  conferences.  At  the  spring  conference, 
1828,  the  members  took  into  consideration  the  conduct  of 


i6o  The  Pennsylvania- German  Society. 

the  young  people  in  attending  the  "  battalions  "  or  military- 
parades,  as  contrary  to  the  doctrines  of  the  church,  the 
fathers  and  to  what  Jesus  Christ  had  taught.  At  the  fol- 
lowing conference  it  was  agreed  to  exhort  the  young  people 
of  the  error  of  their  ways  and  to  inform  them  that  if  they 
insisted  in  their  course  of  conduct  they  would  by  their  own 
action  exclude  themselves  from  the  church  and  would  have 
to  be  so  treated — in  other  words  expulsion  from  church 
would  follow  for  attending  military  parades. 

During  the  Rebellion,  members  of  the  Schwenkfelder 
church  when  drafted  under  the  conscription  act  of  Congress 
avoided  military  service  by  securing  substitutes.  In  such 
cases  the  poorer  members  were  assisted  by  their  richer 
brethren. 

A  study  of  the  war  record  of  the  Schwenkfelders  and 
their  descendants  would  seem  to  warrant  these  conclusions, 
(i)  No  one  directly  connected  with  the  religious  society  or 
church  of  the  Schwenkfelders  took  up  arms  for  active  ser- 
vice in  any  war  since  the  immigration.  (2)  Descendants 
have  been  engaged  in  every  war  since  the  Revolution 
including  the  late  Spanish  war.  (3)  No  Schwenkfelder 
ever  refused  to  pay  the  fines  imposed  for  non-performance 
of  military  service.  (4)  No  Schwenkfelders  were  ever 
suspected  of  treason,  toryism  or  disloyalty  to  government. 
(5)  Less  hardship  befell  them  than  most  other  non- 
combatants. 


CHAPTER  XL 


The  Private  Life  of   the  Schwenkfelders. 

O  far  an  attempt  has  been  made 
in  this  volume  to  trace  the 
Schwenkfelders  in  their  organ- 
ized relaions.  The  pleasant 
duty  remains  of  reviewing  their 
private  lives,  their  toils  and  sor- 
rows .  It  is  utterly  impossible  to 
do  more  than  here  and  there  to 
lift  the  curtain  and  thus  to  afford 
a  glimpse.  It  will  be  an  attempt  to  develop  a  composite 
picture  of  their  ordinary  past  daily  walk  and  conversation. 
Charity  teaches  us  to  leave  the  curtain  down  as  to  the  many 
minor  shortcomings  and  errors. 

At  birth,  the  parents  would  give  thanks  to  the  Father 
for  His  gift  and  the  minister  would  remember  mother  and 
child  in  his  ministrations  for  the  people  before  the  throne 
of  grace.  As  soon  as  convenient  thereafter  a  formal  con- 
secration of  the  child  either  public  or  private  would  be 
held.  Isaac  Schultz  refers  to  this  in  the  following  words  : 
*'  As  soon  as  a  child  is  born,  a  preacher  or  minister  is 
called  in  to  pray  for  the  happiness  and  prosperity  of  the 
II  (i6i) 


1 62  The  Pennsylvania- German  Society. 

child,  admonishing  the  parents  to  educate  their  tender  off- 
spring ;  to  bring  them  up  in  the  nurture  and  admonition 
of  the  Lord,  according  to  the  will  of  God.  Parents  gen- 
erally bring  their  little  ones  into  the  house  of  worship, 
where  the  same  service  is  performed."  At  one  time  the 
question  arose  whether  a  minister  was  at  liberty  to  render 
such  services  when  the  parents  were  not  Schwenkfelders. 
At  times  some  seem  to  have  felt  that  this  child  consecration 
displaced  baptism. 

The  child  was  early  taught  to  offer  his  prayers,  sing  his 
hymns  and  use  his  pencil  and  book.  In  1792  Rev.  George 
Kriebel  reminded  the  pupils  of  the  Hosensack  Academy 
that  they  had  received  training  in  Christian  doctrine  from 
their  youth  up.  Before  the  child  was  allowed  to  trot  away 
to  school  he  was  to  learn  his  A,  B,  C's.  As  soon  as  able  he 
was  encouraged  to  copy  sermons,  hymns  or  the  esteemed 
words  of  some  father.  This  kept  the  child  from  mischief, 
taught  him  to  make  good  use  of  his  time  and  gave  him  a 
bias  to  what  is  good,  true  and  right.  He  was  clothed  in 
homemade  goods  and  not  in  the  flimsy  and  delicate  fabrics 
of  the  present,  nor  was  he  housed  up  during  the  winter  in 
homes  where  every  room  registered  summer  heat,  nor  was 
he  spoiled  as  to  temper  and  digestion  by  gifts  of  cakes, 
sweetmeats  and  poisonous  candies  to  be  consumed  at  every 
unseasonable  hour,  nor  had  he  a  room  full  of  tin  soldiers, 
horses,  castles,  railroad  trains  and  comic  automata  play- 
things "  made  in  Germany." 

When  the  child  became  sick  or  was  threatened  with 
some  of  the  dread  afflictions  of  childhood,  domestic  rem- 
edies were  resorted  to.  Some  of  these  were  made  up  of 
herbs,  roots,  leaves,  bark  or  at  times  their  ashes.  Beside 
these,  according  to  a  book  in  the  hands  'of  the  writer,  a 
record  of  Mrs.  George  Heydrick  (the  midwife,  d.   1828, 


Folk-lore.  163 

who  notes  more  than  1,700  professional  visits),  living  crabs, 
pulverized  egg  shells,  skulls  of  dogs,  the  lice  of  sheep,. 
worms,  red  beads,  human  hair  and  unwashed  yarn  were  also 
deemed  of  medicinal  value.  For  example,  for  whooping 
cough,  take  of  the  hair  of  one  who  never  saw  his  father  and 
place  it  around  the  neck  of  the  patient,  either  in  a  bag,  or 
sewed  in  the  clothing  or  plaited  into  a  braid  ;  or  this  :  give 
the  patient  bread  and  butter  spread  by  one  who  did  not 
change  her  family-name  at  marriage ;  for  convulsive  fits, 
take  a  skein  of  unwashed  yarn,  spun  by  a  child  under  seven 
years  of  age,  pass  it  over  the  forehead  of  the  patient,  then 
pass  the  patient  through  the  skein  three  times  the  same 
way,  burn  the  yarn,  gather  the  ashes  and  add  a  little  of  the 
ashes  to  the  patient's  soup.  A  curious  feature  of  modern 
times  is  to  believe  in  somewhat  similar  remedies,  to  reject 
the  aid  of  God-fearing,  scientificall^arained  medical  practi- 
tioners and  to  worship  the  faith  curist. 

When  the  child  became  old  enough^^his  religious  training 
was  actively  entered  upon.  He  was  grounded  in  the  funda- 
mental principles  by  a  study  of  the  catechetical  questions. 
In  this  study  he  was  encouraged  to  write  out  all  the  proof- 
texts  or  even  perhaps  to  commit  to  memory  all  the  ques- 
tions and  answers  of  the  catechism.  He  was  taught  how 
to  understand  the  sacred  didactic  poetry  found  in  the 
hymn-books  or  circulated  in  manuscript  copy.  He  was 
instructed  in  prayer  and  in  the  duty  of  leading  a  God-fear- 
ing life.  In  these  studies  questions  were  often  assigned 
to  pupils  in  order  that  during  their  hours  of  toil  their  medi- 
tations might  thus  be  directed.  Christopher  Kriebel,  who 
had  charge  of  the  training  of  the  young  for  more  than 
thirty-three  years,  encouraged  his  pupils  to  write  out  com- 
ments on  the  assigned  topic  or  Scripture  passage,  two 
weeks'  time  being  allowed  to  prepare  the  answer.     In  this 


164 


The  Pennsylvania- German  Society. 


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un>  i^<3  /m^  cdiLrt^  ^Ujs  iurUe  a    ciiMMit  l/arjlzlluh^ca 

TITLE  PAGE   OF  THE  FOURTH  AXD   FIXAL  VOLUME  OF   NOTES   ON 
BIBLE  STUDIES   BY   CHRISTOPHER   KRIEBEL. 


Sunday  Schools.  165 

way  he,  for  instance,  spent  eight  years  in  a  study  of  the 
Gospel  according  to  St.  John,  his  own  record  of  the  ques- 
tions and  answers  covering  more  than  a  thousand  pages  of 
closely  written  manuscript. 

Some  of  the  young  people  were  in  the  habit  of  asking 
each  other  questions  concerning  events,  persons,  etc.,  of 
the  Bible  —  even  in  Latin  at  the  time  of  the  Hosensack 
Academy.  At  a  later  period  the  young  were  expected  to 
commit  to  memory  the  gospel  lessons  of  the  whole  church 
year  and  received  regular  drill  on  the  same  by  question 
and  answer.  They  copied  their  TdgUches  Gesang  Bilch- 
lein  and  thus  early  learned  to  send  to  Heaven  on  the  wings 
of  song  many  a  petition  worded  in  the  rugged  rhythms 
of  the  fathers.  They  copied  the  confessions  of  faith  and 
thus  fixed  firmly  the  great  truths  for  which  the  fathers 
suffered  and  fled.  Although  the  modern  Sunday-school 
is  of  recent  date,  the  idea  of  imparting  religious  instruction 
on  Sundays  is  not  recent  and  the  Schwenkfelder  boy  and 
girl  have  been  accustomed  to  attend  classes  for  religious 
instruction  on  Sunday  ever  since  the  fathers  landed.  Nor 
were  these  instructions  limited  to  Sundays.  Meetings 
were  at  various  periods  frequently  held  for  such  training 
during  the  week.  Balzer  Hoffman  also  prepared  a  ques- 
tion book  on  the  gospel  lessons  covering  the  whole  year  to 
be  used  in  the  instruction  of  the  young,  in  connection 
with  his  hymns  on  the  same.  One  need  not  be  surprised 
that  under  such  intensive  training,  the  life  and  thought  of 
the  young  became  tinged  with  a  Pharisaic  pride.  The 
following  words  by  one  of  the  descendants  of  Christopher 
Schultz  probably  represent  the  feelings  of  others  —  un- 
happily not  found  alone  among  the  Schwenkfelders : 
"When  I  first  went  away  from  home  I  had  the  idea  that 
every   denomination   but   the  Schwenkfelders  were    in    a 


i66 


The  Pennsylvania- Gerfuan  Society. 


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TITI^K  PAGE  OF  MANUSCRIPT  SCHWENKFELDER  HYMN-BOOK. 


Training  of  the  Young.  167 

state  nearly  allied  to  the  Gentiles  and  that  it  was  a  duty 
to  avoid  intercourse  with  them  as  much  as  possible. 
Whatever  may  have  been  the  cause  of  this  state  of  mind, 
I  honestly  thought  that  piety  and  morality  were  confined 
to  the  narrow  limits  of  the  church  to  which  my  parents 
belonged." 

The  Schwenkfelder  parent  was  quite  anxious  to  have 
his  child  secure  at  least  the  rudiments  of  the  three  R's. 
This  position  is  well  expressed  in  the  preamble  of  the 
Agreement  of  1764  quoted  in  another  connection  as  fol- 
lows :  "The  faithful  training  of  the  young  in  reading, 
writing  and  the  study  of  the  languages  according  to  sex, 
age  and  standing,  and  their  instruction  in  the  principles 
of  true  religion  contribute  very  much  to  the  welfare  and 
prosperity  of  every  community.  The  boys  and  girls  were 
thus  sent  to  school  and  the  words  of  Isaac  Schultz  fairly 
represent  them  :  '<  They  pay  great  attention  to  the  educa- 
tion of  their  children."  At  the  close  of  the  term  the 
teacher  frequently  favored  them  by  giving  them  a  pen- 
written  memento,  a  kind  of  diploma  or  certificate  of  good 
conduct. 

When  the  time  came  for  the  young  man  to  think  of  find- 
ing a  helpmate  for  himself,  he  was  encouraged  to  seek  a 
Schwenkfelder  damsel.  Fathers  compared  mixed  mar- 
riages to  a  nesting  together  of  the  crow  and  the  dove. 
The  fathers  even  tried  to  tell  him  what  the  different  steps 
in  the  selection  ought  to  be,  practically,  how  to  pop  the  ques- 
tion, but  young  Cupid  though  blindfolded  oft  found  ways 
to  defeat  the  best  laid  plans  of  wise  and  pious  parents  and 
with  his  shafts  inflicted  the  incurable  wound.  Alas  !  that 
at  times  the  young  could  not  see  as  the  fathers  did  and 
later  awoke  to  learn  that  they  had  loved  neither  wisely  nor 
well.     The  ludicrous  also  happened.     When  young  Hein- 


i68  The  Pennsylvania- German  Society. 

rich  Schneider  and  lovely  Rosina  Neuman  of  Gwynedd 
found  their  hearts  beat  as  one,  they  started  for  Philadel- 
phia to  secure  some  proper  person  to  declare  them  one. 
Christopher,  the  father,  said  in  substance  "  Heinrich 
Schneider  has  stolen  my  Rose  "  and  followed  on  horse- 
back to  prevent  the  impending  catastrophe.  His  hurried 
ride  was  in  vain.  The  twain  had  been  wedded.  God 
bestowed  his  blessing  upon  them  and  an  honored  patro- 
nymic was  added  to  the  list  of  Schwenkfelder  family 
names.  When  young  Christopher  Schultz  (afterwards 
the  Reverend  Christopher)  engaged  himself  to  Rosina 
Yeakel,  he,  as  others  had  done,  also  made  a  will  in  due 
form  bequeathing  her  a  definite  sum  of  money  should  he 
die  before  their  contemplated  marriage. 

The  following  exceptional  episodes  are  related  of  the 
courtship  days  of  one  innocent  comic  rural  swain.  He 
called  at  one  place  and  received  the  *'sack."  On  his 
way  home  either  for  joy  or  pain  of  heart  or  through  a 
spirit  of  mischief,  he  made  such  a  noise  that  the  dogs  along 
the  way  joined  in  a  howling  chorus  and  thus  heralded 
the  progress  of  the  victim  through  the  valleys.  At  another 
time  when  on  a  similar  mission  he  came  to  a  house  having  a 
so-called  double-door.  For  some  reason  not  explained  by 
tradition  he  stepped  over  the  lower  closed  half  instead  of 
opening  it.  One  need  not  be  surprised  that  he  failed  here 
too.  Subsequently  he  called  at  a  home  where  there  were 
two  buxom  daughters.  The  older  one  left  the  room  in  such 
a  manner  that  he  had  a  chance  to  follow  and  make  known 
his  mission.  He  failed  to  do  so  and  she  went  to  bed  leav- 
ing the  younger  sister  alone  with  the  caller.  He  then  told 
her  that  he  had  called  for  the  older  sister,  that  although  it 
was  customary  to  harvest  the  hay  before  the  aftermath, 
she  would  do.     This  meant  of    course  another    "sack." 


Marriage  Customs,  169 

Fourthly  he  tried  his  fortune  at  a  place  where  he  found 
a  wood-chest  in  the  sitting  room.  He  lay  down  on  it,  say- 
ing that  he  found  as  much  comfort  in  lying  down  as  in 
sitting.     Here  again  he  failed. 

When  a  young  couple  had  finally  decided  to  sail  down 
life's  stream  together  the  next  step  was  to  go  to  some 
Justice  of  the  Peace  or  church  minister  and  have  the  cere- 
mony performed.  Considerable  intermarrying  took  place. 
Thus  the  present  writer  can  refer  to  25  ancestors  who 
came  to  Pennsylvania  on  the  ship  St.  Andrew  in  1734- 
In  most  cases  the  bridegroom,  however,  would  go  to  the 
minister  and  declare  their  intentions  in  order  that  the 
same  might  be  announced  in  open  meeting.  This  was 
repeated  several  times  during  which  period  the  minister 
met  the  groom  and  bride  several  times  and  instructed  them 
on  Christian  doctrine  and  particularly  on  the  duties  of 
married  life.  The  important  day  having  come,  the  in- 
vited guests  assembled  at  the  house  of  the  bride  and 
awaited  the  minister.  Regular  religious  services  were 
conducted  including  prayer,  singing  and  a  sermon,  upon 
which  the  ceremony  followed  and  the  twain  were  pro- 
nounced one.  At  the  marriage  feast  which  followed  the 
*'  Schwenkfelder  cake  "  was  not  missing,  neither  were  the 
poor  forgotten.  From  the  table  bountifully  laden,  the 
baskets  were  filled  and  members  of  the  family  dispatched 
to  the  unfortunate.  Drinking,  dancing  and  other  doubt- 
ful doings  were  not  permitted.  At  times  the  pastor  would 
remember  the  new  couple  by  sending  them  a  letter  rich  with 
sound  precepts.  At  one  time  a  regulation  was  adopted 
that  if  members  of  the  society  were  not  married  by  the 
regular  ministers,  a  confession  expressive  of  regret  at  the 
irregular  step  would  have  to  be  made  in  open  meeting 
Then  all  steps  in  life  were  regarded  sacred  and  entrance 
into  the  married  relation  one  of  the  most  sacred  of  all. 


170  The  Pennsylvania- Ger7nan  Society. 

The  young  bride  had  —  perhaps  for  years  —  been  mak- 
ing preparations  for  her  duties  as  wife  and  mistress  of  the 
future  home.  She  had  saved  the  rags  —  in  recent  decades 
at  least — and  cut  them  into  strips  to  be  woven  into  carpet 
by  father  or  brother.  She  had  made  the  spinning  wheel 
hum  and  had  prepared  her  thread  and  warp  and  woof  for 
her  linen  and  linsey-woolsey.  She  had  probably  worked 
her  samplers  to  ornament  the  spare-room,  rich  in  a  variety 
of  colors,  filled  with  curious  shaped  animals,  ornamented 
letters  and  figures  or  perhaps  even  with  the  reproduction 
of  bits  of  landscape.  She  had  in  readiness  several  changes 
of  bed  linen  complete  with  quilts,  comfortables  and  feather- 
bed and  coverlets  displaying  all  the  colors  of  the  rainbow 
arranged  in  designs  more  or  less  artistic.  Perchance  she 
had  even  started  to  collect  her  family  treasure  of  shining 
pewter  or  queensware  ornamented  with  letters,  figures, 
etc.  She  had  learned  to  make  her  own  soap,  to  cook  and 
bake  and,  what  was  a  pride  of  her  heart,  to  make  a 
Schwenkfelder  cake.  This  was  a  risen  cake,  spread  by 
rolling  pin,  flavored  by  saffron,  and  crowned  by  sweetened 
crumbs,  as  wide  as  the  oven  door  or  baker's  tools  would 
warrant  and  baked  in  the  old-fashioned  bake-oven.  Sad 
to  say  the  fame  of  the  cakes  at  times  went  farther  than  the 
fame  of  the  bakers  themselves.  It  is  probable  that  these 
cakes  originated  in  Silesia  for  there  to  this  day  does  the 
busy  housewife  bake  the  same  cake  called  Streiiselkuchen. 

It  may  not  be  amiss  to  take  a  peep  at  the  life  in  the 
family.  Isaac  Schultz  says  in  1844:  "They — the 
Schwenkfelders  —  form  a  respectable  part  of  the  German 
community  of  the  counties  above  named.  Some  of  them 
pursue  agriculture,  some  manufactures,  others  are  engaged 
in  commercial  enterprise.  By  their  strict  discipline  they 
keep  their  members  orderly  and  pure  from  the  contami- 


Characteristics.  \'i'i. 

nating  influences  of  the  corruptions  so  prevalent.  They 
are  a  moral  people ;  pious  and  highly  esteemed  by  all 
who  know  them.  They  pay  great  attention  to  the  educa- 
tion, the  moral  and  religious  training  of  their  children. 
Many  of  them  possess  a  respectable  knowledge  of  the 
learned  languages,  Latin,  etc.  There  is  scarcely  a  family 
among  them  that  does  not  possess  a  well-selected  and 
neatly  arranged  library."  Balzer  Schultz  relates  the  fol- 
lowing expressions  of  opinion  by  C.  E.  Stock,  the  teacher 
of  the  Hosensack  Academy,  1792  :  "  I  must  say  this,  of  all 
the  sects  and  religious  bodies  I  have  met,  and  they  are 
many,  I  found  none  with  whom  I  was  so  well  pleased.  I 
have  now  lived  with  you  for  some  time  and  have  never 
heard  an  oath  or  blasphemous  word.  I  never  saw  one  of 
your  people  drunk.  You  are  kind  and  beneficent  to  all, 
particularly  to  the  poor.  You  are  orderly  and  industrious 
in  your  calling.  You  do  not  waste  your  substance  on 
splendor  and  richness  in  clothing  as  do  others.  You  live 
separated  from  the  world  and  you  seek  to  keep  your  chil- 
dren away  from  the  world.  Neither  during  the  week 
much  less  on  Sundays  do  you  allow  your  children  to  go 
to  places  of  public  resort,  but  encourage  them  in  the  study 
of  the  Bible."  Schwenkfelders  were  expected  to  pay  their 
debts.  He  who  did  not  do  so,  was  looked  upon  as  having 
forfeited  the  rights  of  membership.  If  a  person  under 
adverse  circumstances  felt  the  pangs  of  poverty  gnaw  at 
his  vitals  he  did  not  need  to  worry  about  his  going  over  the 
hill  to  the  poor  house,  for  such  as  these  w^ere  always  cared 
for  out  of  the  Charity  Fund,  at  no  time  exhausted  since 
its  founding.  Even  the  tramps  were  not  forgotten  and 
they  were  known  to  ask  the  way  to  the  Schwenkfelder 
valley.  Even  the  ministers  had  a  fund  placed  in  their 
hands  at  one  time  to  help  along  the  "  Weary  Willies  "  of 
the  road. 


172  The  Pennsylvania- Ger7nan  Society. 

The  peculiarities  of  dress  spoken  of  by  some  writers 
have  passed  away.  Freedom  was  indeed  guaranteed  to 
families  by  church  regulation,  hence  no  particular  regu- 
lations can  be  spoken  of.  New  fashions,  new  goods,  new 
styles  were  scrupulously  avoided  and  legislated  against, 
and  as  a  matter  of  economy  the  use  of  home-made  goods 
was  encouraged. 

The  Schwenkfelders  were  not  office  seekers  though 
when  called  upon  they  usually  served.  Christopher 
Schultz  was  commissioned  as  a  Justice  of  the  Peace  in  1777 
but  in  all  probability  failed  to  accept  the  commission. 
Christopher  Hoffman  was  appealed  to  by  messengers  to 
serve  in  a  certain  office  for  which  he  had  been  chosen  but 
flatly  refused.  After  the  messengers  had  left,  he  said  to 
his  wife:  *' Oh  how  good  is  it  to  be  able  to  remain 
humble."  A  few  years  after  this  Abraham  Schultz  was  a 
member  of  the  Pennsylvania  Assembly  and  as  such  served 
on  various  committees.  In  more  recent  times  the  Schwenk- 
felders have  drifted  more  towards  public  office.  They 
have,  however,  always  been  close  students  of  public  affairs 
and  have  been  intelligent  readers  of  the  current  secular 
and  religious  papers.  Nor  have  they  hesitated  to  express 
themselves  when  occasion  seemed  to  demand.  They  have 
always  been  law-abiding.  They  were  averse  to  resorting 
to  law  although  ready  even  thus  to  maintain  their  rights,  if 
need  be. 

The  Schwenkfelder  farmer  was  not  averse  to  having  re- 
demptioners  in  his  household.  Abraham  Beyer,  Andrew 
Beyer,  David  Schultz  and  Christopher  K.  Schultz  are 
known  to  have  employed  them.  In  the  case  of  David 
Schultz,  Hans  Ulrich  Seller  had  originally  been  helped  by 
Abraham  Beyer  the  father  of  Mrs.  David  Shultz  who  paid 
his   ship-passage  from  Rotterdam.      He    was  of    a  very 


Missionary  Efforts.  173 

ugly  and  surly  disposition.  To  improve  matters  surveyor 
David  took  the  German  into  his  own  household.  The  out- 
come was  that  Mrs.  Schultz  was  cruelly  murdered,  June 
14,  1750,  by  Seiler,  who  after  due  process  of  law  was  exe- 
cuted the  following  November,  the  first  German  to  be  exe- 
cuted in  Pennsylvania  according  to  David  Schultz.  They 
probably  never  were  negro  slaveholders,  but  they  are  not 
known  to  have  offered  any  assistance  to  the  underground 

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^^^ 


RECEIPT  GIVEN  BY  REV.  H.  BIBIGHAUS  FOR  $273.02,  RAISED  BV  THE  SCHWENKFEI,D- 
ERS  FOR  THE  USE  OF  THE  REV.  BENJAMIN  SCHNEIDER,  D.D.,  MISSIONARY  OF  THE  RE- 
FORMED CHURCH  AT  BROOSA  IN  ASIA  MINOR.     (See  page  93. ) 

railroad.  When  the  president  or  the  governor  called  for  a 
day  of  prayer,  humiliation  or  thanksgiving  the  Schwenk- 
felders,  as  all  loyal  citizens  heartily  responded.  Nor  did 
he  deem  it  too  much  trouble  to  go  forty  miles  to  cast  his 
vote  at  a  Provincial  election. 

In  their  secular  employments  they  were  mostly  farm- 
ers though  many  served    their  fellows  in  various  other 


174  The  Pennsylvania- German  Society. 

capacities.  The  peripatetic  shoemaker,  tailor,  nailmaker, 
fencemaker  were  well  known.  The  various  steps  in  the 
manufacture  of  linen  goods  from  the  sowing  of  the  flax- 
seed in  the  well-manured  and  well-cultivated  garden  spot  to 
the  bleaching  or  dyeing  of  the  fabrics  by  home-made  dyes 
was  well-know^n  to  them  by  actual  experience.  In  harvest 
time  the  larger  farmers  would  have  half  a  dozen  grain- 
cradles  or  more  in  their  fields  which  meant  the  employment, 
feeding  and  lodging  of  perhaps  a  score  of  extra  hands. 
David  Schultz,  surveyor,  remarks  in  his  diary  that  he  em- 
ployed twenty-four  reapers  one  day.  With  five  or  six,  or 
seven  meals  a  day  of  good  substantial  food,  a  demijohn  of 
applejack  on  the  pump  floor  and  perhaps  one  in  the  field,  a 
great  amount  of  work  would  be  done.  How  they  would 
rejoice  at  the  familiar  long  drawn  sound  of  the  dinner  horn 
possibly  tooted  by  a  mischievous  youngster  sitting  on  the 
houseroof.  If  at  night  strange  noises  or  merry  laughter 
were  heard,  or  beds  turned  upside  down,  or  wagon  wheels 
misplaced,  or  dead  chickens  placed  on  long  poles  in  front 
of  the  open  bedroom  windows  none  was  the  wiser  or  less 
agreeable  in  the  morning. 

In  turning  his  products  into  cash,  the  Schwenkf elder 
farmers  would  haul  the  grain  to  Flourtown,  Germantown 
or  Philadelphia.  With  his  neighbors  he  would  organize 
butter  market  companies  in  order  that  each  of  the  half 
dozen  or  more  farmers  might  take  his  turn  in  going  to  the 
"  town."  He  would  start  in  the  small  hours  of  the  morn- 
ing, with  four  horses  attached  to  his  heavy  laden  Conestoga 
wagon,  with  possibly  a  couple  of  the  daughters  occupying 
the  front  seats  who  hoped  to  see  the  sights  and  make  pur- 
chases for  the  family.  Such  rides  on  a  springless  Cone- 
stoga over  the  rocks,  around  the  stumps,  on  uncushioned 
boards  with  thrusts  against  the  sides  of  the  wagon-body 


Rural  Customs.  175 

must  have  caused  a  voracious  appetite  and  the  most  charm- 
ing rosy  cheeks  and  dimpled  chins.  The  day's  journey 
ended,  the  team  would  probably  follow  a  long  train  of  sim- 
ilar wagons  to  one  of  the  numerous  hostleries  along  the 
road,  and  the  wants  of  man  and  beast  would  be  attended  to 
for  the  night.  Going  to  bed  meant  for  the  teamsters  then, 
lying  on  a  bag  of  feed  on  the  floor  of  the  bar-room,  try- 
ing to  sleep,  telling  his  tale  of  woe,  listening  to  blood- 
curdling stories  or  cracking  his  jokes,  sometimes  rather 
coarse.  Thus  he  went.  On  his  return  trip  he  would 
bring  salt  for  his  stock,  gypsum  for  his  fields,  fish  for  the 
family  and  neighbors,  storegoods  for  the  country  merchant, 
and  last  but  not  least  by  any  means  in  the  estimation  of  the 
recipients,  trinkets  for  the  little  boys  and  girls  in  exchange 
for  the  nuts  or  nicely  combed  hog  bristles  given  him  to 
market.  Tradition  tells  us  that  where  East  Greenville  is 
now  located  there  was  formerly  one  of  the  worst  stretches 
of  road  along  the  whole  Philadelphia  route,  one  that  farm- 
ers always  dreaded  —  and  particularly  on  cloudy,  moonless 
nights  —  the  winding  between  the  trees  and  through  the 
bogs  and  low  places  axle-deep  with  sticky  mud. 

When  the  apples  were  ripe,  apple  butter  parties  were  in 
order.  Who  can  declare  the  rural  joy  in  picking  apples 
under  the  wide  spreading  apple  trees  and  making  the 
luscious  cider  at  the  old-fashioned  home-made  cider  mill, 
in  drinking  the  sweet  cider  or  eating  the  rich  cidersoup, 
in  making  bushels  of  '*  schnitz,"  in  stirring  the  mixture  of 
schnitz  and  cider  until  the  proper  consistency  has  been 
reached,  in  trying  to  eat  the  tempting  fool  cake  filled  with 
tow^  prepared  by  the  smiling,  haughty  farmer's  daughter,  in 
dipping  the  finished  product  from  the  copper  kettle  and 
gathering  up  the  remains  along  the  sides  of  the  kettle 
either  with  crooked  finger  or  crust  of  bread  and  eating  to 


176  The  Pennsylv  ant  a' German  Society. 

one's  heart's  content.  He  who  has  not  joined  on  such  or 
similar  occasions  in  playing  a  game  of  "  Blumsock"  (hunt 
the  slipper)  knows  not  what  genuine  innocent  sport  is. 

At  times  spinning  wheels  would  be  shouldered,  and  a 
visit  made  to  a  neighbor  to  talk  and  spin.  The  years 
crops  being  all  harvested,  thrashing  was  in  order  which  was 
done  by  flail,  or  rude  machine  or  the  quasi-Scriptural  method 
of  letting  the  horse  tread  out  the  golden  grain.  If  there 
was  naught  else  to  do,  spinning  was  engaged  in  by  father, 
mother,  son  and  daughter  the  whole  winter  through,  the 
aim  being  to  finish  the  year's  spinning  by  Candlemas  — 
^^  Lichtmes.  Spin  Verg'ess."  Some  might  occasionally  be 
seen  working  on  the  tape  machines  weaving  strings,  either 
ornamental  for  the  Sunday-go-to-meeting  apron  or  plain 
for  household  use  or  for  father's  grain  bags.  The  various 
looms  too  were  kept  in  motion  and  the  miller  in  the  hollow 
sang  and  whistled  as  his  wheel  turned  round,  grinding  out 
the  grist  or  yielding  the  pure  linseed  oil  and  meal. 

When  the  snows  began  to  fall  and  sleighing  was  thus 
assured,  Christoffel  or  Balthasar  or  Hans  Heinrich  would 
sniff  the  air,  and  say  to  Bevvy  and  Molly,  "  To-night  we 
will  take  a  sleigh  ride."  Word  would  be  sent  to  the  neigh- 
boring houses,  the  home-made  bob-sleigh  would  be  brought 
forth,  the  wagon  body  placed  on  it  and  half  filled  with 
clean  straw.  Grain  bags  would  be  stuffed  full  of  straw  and 
placed  cross-wise  for  seats.  In  due  time  eight,  ten  or  a 
dozen  pairs  of  the  neighboring  boys  and  girls  would  start 
off.  The  inexperienced  can  not  appreciate  the  pleasures 
of  a  sleigh  ride  in  a  crisp,  moonlight  night,  horses  pranc- 
ing, sleighbells  ringing  in  bright  jingling  tones,  girls, 
laughing,  dogs  barking,  the  hills  reechoing,  and  all  hearts 
light  and  gay  and  free.  The  spacious  farmhouse  of  some 
blood  relation  or  friend  being  reached,  all  would  jump  out, 


Hymnology . 


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A   SCHWENKFELDER   MUSIC   BOOK. 


1 78  The  Pennsylvania- German  Society. 

some  perhaps  to  measure  their  own  length  in  a  snowdrift, 
the  horses  would  be  led  to  the  spare  stalls  back  of  the 
cows,  and  the  good  wife  would  make  the  whole  com- 
pany feel  welcome.  Games  were  perhaps  indulged  in, 
but  none  such  as  might  prove  but  nurseries  of  future  wrong- 
doing were  allowable.  Supper  was  served  and  as  the 
small  hours  of  the  morning  came  the  company  broke  up 
and  the  rustic  lads  and  lasses  wended  their  way  homeward. 
In  his  religious  life  the  Schwenkfelder  would  begin  and 
end  each  day  in  prayer,  though  oft  in  secret  and  inaudi- 
bly.  At  each  meal,  either  silently  or  audibly,  by  prayer, 
song  or  the  innocent  child's  lisping,  he  would  return  thanks 
to  God  for  his  gifts.  He  had  his  book  of  daily  prayers  and 
hymns,  which  he  did  not  fail  to  use.  If  he  wished  to  have 
a  particular  book,  either  in  manuscript  or  print,  he  did  not 
regard  it  beneath  his  dignity,  or  as  unworthy  of  his  man- 
hood, or  as  being  a  useless  waste  of  time,  to  copy  such 
envied  production  in  full  for  himself.  He  would  even 
take  up  knotty  questions  in  theology  for  study  and  write 
out  his  comments.  In  his  library  he  had  the  sermons, 
either  printed  or  written,  of  Werner,  Hiller,  Weichenhan 
Hoburg,  the  Epistolaren  of  Schwenkfeld,  the  mystic  writ- 
ings of  Hoburg  and  the  collections  of  letters  of  more  recent 
times.  These  he  read  and  studied.  He  had  courses  of 
reading  so  that  various  books  might  be  read  through  in 
course  during  the  year.  The  Pennsylvania  Historical  So- 
ciety, has  one  of  these  *'  courses  "  complete  for  the  church 
year,  in  which  all  the  leading  Schwenkfelder  writers, 
from  Schwenkfeld  to  Balzer  Hoffman,  are  referred  to. 
Each  Sunday  has  readings  arranged  for  Friih,  Vormit- 
iags,  Nachmittags ^  Kinderlehr.  The  authorship  is  not 
determined.  On  Sunday,  if  he  did  not  go  to  meeting,  he 
would  have  his  devotions  in  his  home.     After  the  morning 


Public  Worship.  179 

chores  were  done  and  the  family  clothed  in  the  clean 
home-spun  to  be  worn  the  following  week,  the  family 
would  gather,  hymns  were  sung,  prayers  offered,  per- 
haps read  out  of  his  book  of  prayers,  and  the  sermon  for 
the  Sunday  read  by  some  one  of  the  family.  Woe  to  the 
child  that  fell  asleep.  If  a  hearer  became  listless,  the 
book  would  be  passed  to  him  with  a  request  to  continue  the 
reading.  Doubtless  the  minds  of  the  youthful  worshippers 
would  be  wandering  over  the  green  pastures,  beside  the 
still  waters  or  by  the  shady  swimming  pool,  while  the  body 
was  paying  due  respect  to  the  solemnities  of  the  occasion. 
Sermon  ended,  the  dinner  and  the  feeding  of  the  lowing 
herd  would  demand  attention.  In  the  afternoon  the  young 
would  not  be  allowed  to  wander  away  from  home  to  en- 
gage in  mischief.  They  would  gather  for  instruction  in 
their  places  of  worship,  or,  staying  at  home,  would  copy 
sacred  hyms  or  sermons,  or  engage  in  other  religious  ex- 
ercises, or  as  amateur  artists  they  would  paint  houses, 
ornamental  letters,  or  creations  of  the  imagination ;  be- 
times the  young  ladies  of  the  household  would  ply  their 
needles  on  their  fancy  work.  Before  1790  the  Schwenk- 
felder  had  no  house  of  worship  to  go  to.  When  after 
that  he  went  to  his  place  of  prayer  and  praise  he  had  no 
bell  to  call  the  people,  no  backs  or  cushions  to  the  seats, 
no  stained  glass  windows,  no  carpets  to  hush  the  footfall 
of  the  belated  worshipper,  no  ushers  to  tell  the  people  to 
come  up  higher,  no  organ  to  drown  the  voice  of  the  sing- 
ers, no  choirs  to  praise  God  by  proxy,  no  Rev.  Blank, 
D.D.,  LL.D.,  to  dazzle  with  a  sensational  pyrotechnic 
display  of  smooth-flowing  cadences  and  glittering  general- 
ities. The  service  he  attended  was  non-liturgical  though 
the  sermon  or  prayers  were  occasionally  read  from  printed 
books  or  from  manuscripts.     His  preacher  served  without 


i8o  The  Pennsylvania- German  Society. 

pay,  hence  could  be  fearless  and  free  and  had  no  occasion 
to  measure  the  effect  of  his  labors  by  the  subscriptions  in 
the  successive  collection  books.  In  worship  sexes  and 
ages  were  seated  separately,  men  were  dressed  so  much 
alike  that  one  would  involuntarily  think  of  uniforms.  The 
snow-white  caps,  aprons  and  neckerchiefs  of  the  women 
placed  the  worshipper  in  a  devotional  frame  of  mind.  The 
boys  and  girls  sat  by  the  parents  in  their  home-spuns  and 
probably  barefooted  in  summer  time.  In  prayer  they 
stood  in  reverent  attitude,  and  as  the  names  of  the  Saviour 
were  mentioned  by  the  preacher  they  all  slightly  bent  the 
knee,  and  thus  visibly  and  inaudibly  expressed  their  amens 
to  praise  and  supplication. 

As  an  illustration  of  the  procedure  when  death  invaded 
the  family  and  claimed  a  victim  we  will  quote  Christopher 
Kriebel's  letter  of  1769  :  "  We  in  '  Coschehoppe,  Shippach 
and  Towamencin,'  have  our  own  burying  grounds  at  each 
place.  Many  have  burying  grounds  on  their  own  land  for 
their  families.  Others  who  lived  a  considerable  distance 
away  have  buried  their  dead  in  burying  grounds  of  people 
who  are  not  of  our  faith,  since  those  of  quite  different  re- 
ligious views  have  buried  there  for  the  earth  is  quite  com- 
mon to  such  use  in  our  land.  We  have  also  allowed  our 
neighbors  who  live  near  us  and  are  of  different  religious 
views  to  bury  in  our  grounds.  The  ceremony  with  us  is  as 
follows  :  on  the  death  of  any  one,  there  is  a  general  con- 
sultation between  the  family  of  the  deceased  and  the  neigh- 
bors in  reference  to  the  burial  of  the  body ;  a  duty  is  as- 
signed to  each  one  which  he  is  expected  to  attend  to  until 
the  ceremonies  are  ended.  At  the  same  time  provision  is 
made  for  messengers  to  go  on  horseback  to  the  distant 
places  where  our  people  reside,  and  since  for  a  long  time 
no  minister  has  been  among  us,  a  request  is  made  at  the 


Hyinnology , 


i»i 


Qi^mKt'h 


yimin.  ,(m^en^t  (rUrtujhn  nm: 

Iln^  oafs  am   (if^ip^ntCtn. 

A. 


TITLE  PAGE  OF  MSS.    HYMN   BOOK   FOR   FAMILY  WORSHIP. 


182  The  Pennsylvania- German  Society. 

same  time  of  the  one  who  is  to  speak  a  word  of  exhortation 
on  the  occasion  of  the  funeral.  On  account  of  our  homes 
being  considerably  scattered  many  horses  are  brought 
together  (the  women  are  as  good  riders  on  their  side-saddles 
as  the  men  ;  there  is  no  difference).  The  horses  from  a 
distance  are  fed,  the  people  are  provided  with  bread,  butter 
and  a  refreshing  drink,  on  cold  days  warm  drinks  are  pro- 
vided. The  care  of  horse  and  man,  the  digging  of  the 
grave  and  the  burial  are  entrusted  to  the  neighbors  who 
are  designated  by  the  bereaved  family.  The  place  where 
the  preaching  takes  place  is  at  times  under  the  open  sky, 
but  mostly  in  the  barns  which  usually  prove  entirely  too 
small,  so  that  many  have  to  sit  and  stand  outside.  The 
exercises  are  opened  with  the  singing  of  a  hymn  or  two, 
which  is  followed  by  a  discourse  of  perhaps  an  hour  and  a 
half  and  then  closed  by  another  hymn.  Upon  this  the 
body  is  carried  to  the  grave  and  buried  while  a  hymn  is 
sung.  Thanks  are  expressed  for  the  love  shown  during 
the  bereavement  and  invitations  are  given  to  return  to  the 
house  of  mourning  for  refreshment."  Though  reforms 
and  changes  have  been  introduced  in  funeral  customs,  the 
essential  mode  of  procedure  has  not  been  materially 
changed,  since  this  was  written. 


CHAPTER   XII. 


Bibliographical  Notes. 


HE  preface  of  the  second  edition  of 
the  Catechism  by  Christopher  Schuhz 
opens  with  these  words;  "A  pure, 
Christian  system  of  doctrine  of  faith 
is  among  all  temporal  gifts  and 
favors  of  God,  the  greatest  and 
most  important."  In  these  words 
jV^^  -"«fc*i£i^^  the  author  but  voices  the  controlling 
i  V  '^^.~>'      sentiment  of  all  sincere  and  earnest 

Schwenkfelders.  Among  such  people,  the  student  would 
naturally  expect  to  find  in  addition  to  doctrinal  education, 
considerable  activity  in  the  line  of  religious  literature  and 
such  has  been  the  case.  Casual  reference  has  been  made 
to  this  in  earlier  chapters  ;  an  effort  will  be  made  to 'pres- 
ent a  concise  review  of  the  American  efforts  in  this  direc- 
tion without  attempting  to  catalogue  all  the  productions. 

The  correspondence  of  these  people  with  their  European 
friends  and  acquaintances  affords  much  light  in  this  direc- 
tion. This  began  probably  as  early  as  1731  when  George 
Schultz,  the  brother  of  surveyor  David,  landed  in  Phila- 
delphia.    The  present  writer  has  in  this  connection  com- 

183 


1 84  The  Pennsylvania-German  Society. 

piled  a  partial  list  of  over  200  letters  still  preserved  extend- 
ing from  1733  to  1792,  some  of  which  are  quite  lengthy- 
productions.  It  is  probable  that  prior  to  1765  the  corres- 
pondence was  somewhat  limited  partly  due  to  the  fact  that 
means  of  conveyance  or  the  mail  facilities  were  meager. 
At  that  time,  however,  on  account  of  Heintze,  Kurtz,  Groh, 
Fliegner  and  others,  living  in  or  near  Probsthayn,  more 
interest  began  to  manifest  itself.  Thus  for  instance  we 
read  that  in  1769,  39  letters  were  enclosed  in  one  package, 
in  1770,  41,  and  in  1774,  44.^  From  1776  to  1784,  there 
was  almost  a  complete  interruption  of  correspondence  on 
account  of  the  Revolutionary  war.  These  letters  are  a  mine 
of  information  respecting  the  inner  life  of  the  community 
during  the  whole  period.  A  package  of  them  was  found 
by  Ober-Lehrer  Friedrich  Schneider  in  his  extensive  his- 
toric researches  who  wrote  these  words  in  reference  to 
them:  "From  all  of  these  there  shines  forth  a  pious  and 
peaceful  mind.  The  condition  of  these  Schwenkfelders 
is  continually  good.  In  expression  most  of  these  letters 
are  correct,  fluent  and  cultured.  *  *  *  The  letters  of  this 
Susanna  Wiegner  (Mrs.  George  Wiegner)  in  spite  of  her 
age  are  written  in  a  firm  and  neat  hand  and  their  style 
betrays  an  unusual  education."  In  subject  matter  these 
were  letters  of  friendship,  business,  religious  exhortation 
or  doctrinal  controversy  of  an  individual  or  general  na- 
ture. From  this  correspondence  we  also  learn  that  efforts 
were  made  at  various  times  by  the  Schwenkfelders  to  res- 
cue their  old  doctrinal  books,  among  others  those  taken 
from  them  during  the  time  of  the  Jesuit  Mission  1720  to 
1726.     Considerably  prior  to   1767,  boxes  full  of  books 

^Sample  " addresses  "  of  these  letters  :  "  Aan  Monsier  George  Hiibner  in 
Pencilvania  im  Valckner  Swam";  "Aan  Melchior  Hiibner  12  Stonden  von 
Philadelphia  in  Pensilvania  "  ;  "Discs  Briflein  zu  kommen  an  George  Hiibner 
als  meinem  liben  Schwagerin  Pensilvanien." 


THE    PENNSYLVANIA-GERriAN    SOCIETY. 


SCMWENt\FELDER  HATRONS. 

DRESSED    FOR    PUBLIC    WORSHIP    flS   CUSTOnHRY    DURING    LAST   CENTURY. 


Correspondence.  185 

were  imported  through  their  friend  Wigand  of  Frankfort. 
The  price  of  an  Epistolar  of  Schwenkfeld  was  12  to  18 
gulden  —  a  gulden  equals  41  to  48  cents.  References 
show  that  other  importations  were  made  and  that  money 
was  raised  for  such  purpose. 

Besides  this  correspondence  the  early  life  in  Penn- 
sylvania shows  remarkable  activity  in  denominational 
literature.  Many  of  the  manuscript  volumes  are  still  pre- 
served and  prove  rich  feasts  to  the  eye  of  the  book-lover. 
Numbers  of  these  have  been  allowed  to  pass  into  strange 
hands  to  be  highly  treasured  or  to  be  allowed  to  be  de- 
stroyed. Some  of  the  volumes  are  stately  developments 
of  lines  of  thought  more  or  less  profound ;  others  mere 
collections  of  papers  on  allied  themes ;  others,  record  of 
work  in  the  training  of  the  young  ;  others,  crude  "  What- 
nots "  for  the  preservation  of  literary  gems  or  curiosities. 
Series  of  sermon  outlines  by  most  of  the  ministers  are  still 
preserved  affording  much  valuable  information.  Writings 
of  a  controversial  nature  are  not  wanting  either  as  for  in- 
stance those  against  the  views  of  Jane  Leade,  or  Jacob 
Boehme,  or  the  restorationists  or  the  lively  sparring  of 
Joshua  Schultz  and  Daniel  Weiser. 

With  respect  to  a  special  line  of  work,  Hon.  S.  W. 
Pennypacker  used  these  words  in  an  address  before  the 
Pennsylvania-German  Society:  ♦*  I  want  to  call  your  at- 
tention to  another  sect,  the  Schwenkfelders  who  came  to 
Pennsylvania.  They  were  the  followers  of  Casper 
Schwenkfeld  and  the  doctrines  taught  by  him  were  almost 
identical  with  those  taught  by  the  Quakers.  They  came 
in  1734.  Their  literature  was  extensive  and  interesting. 
It  is  reproduced  for  the  most  part  in  huge  folios  written 
upon  paper  made  at  the  Rittenhouse  paper-mill  on  the 
Wissahickon,   the    earliest   in   America.     These  volumes 


i86  The  Pennsylvania- German  Society. 

sometimes  contained  looo  pages,  bound  in  stamped  leather 
with  brass  covers  and  brass  mounting.  (Christopher 
Hoffman  was  their  bookbinder.  H.  W.  K.)  Among  the 
notable  facts  connected  with  their  history  is  that  they  pre- 
pared a  written  description  of  all  the  writings  of  Schwenk- 
feld  and  their  other  authors  and  it  is  as  far  as  I  know  the 
first  attempt  at  a  bibliography  in  this  country."  {Penfisyl- 
vania  Germans,  Vol.  II.,  38.)  In  connection  with  this 
bibliography  a  record  was  made  of  the  contents  of  the 
books  owned  by  the  different  families  (1741-1747)  in  the 
Salford  and  Towamencin  districts.  The  abrupt  breaking 
off  of  the  record  suggests  the  probability  that  it  had  been 
planned  to  extend  the  list.  The  writer  has  no  knowledge 
that  anything  like  this  was  attempted  since. 

It  is  worthy  of  note  that  the  huge  manuscript  volumes 
were  in  nearly  every  instance  supplied  with  registers  or 
indexes.  Too  often,  it  is  to  be  feared,  people  have  looked 
upon  these  manuscript  volumes  as  a  quantity  of  paper 
rather  than  as  a  record  of  midnight  toil  and  anguish  of 
soul,  historic  accretions  of  profound  thinking,  rubies  and 
diamonds  perchance  for  the  adornment  of  God's  spiritual 
temple  and  kingdom.  Fortunes  have  been  won  and  lost 
but  no  one  seems  to  have  thought  of  collecting,  collating 
and  saving  from  destruction,  these  treasures  by  providing 
a  place  for  them  and  a  fund  for  their  proper  care,  study 
and  publication.  Can  God  bless  a  people  that  carelessly 
despises  its  heritage  and  forgets  its  history? 

It  will  be  profitable  and  instructive  to  particularize  a 
little  more  closely  with  respect  to  the  work  done  by  some 
of  these  toilers. 

George  Weiss,  son  of  Casper,  was  born  in  Harpersdorf , 
Lower  Silesia,  Germany,  in  1687.  Abandoning  his  prop- 
erty on  account  of  persecution,  he  like  others  went  with 


Bibliography.  187 

his  family  to  Saxony  in  1726  and  to  Pennsylvania  in  1734, 
where  he  died  in  1740.  As  a  youth  he  was  not  allowed 
to  be  idle  if  one  may  judge  by  his  copying  Michael  Hil- 
ler's  Postill  before  he  was  thirteen  years  old.  His  father, 
a  strenuous  Schwenkfelder,  collated  a  large  hymn-book,  a 
large  book  of  prayers,  and  glosses  or  comments  on  various 
passages  of  the  Bible.  The  son  in  helping  to  copy  these, 
early  received  a  sound  religious  training.  In  1720  George 
wrote  a  Confession  of  Faith  for  the  Schwenkfelders  and 
answers  to  the  questions  propounded  by  the  Jesuit  mission- 
aries. About  the  same  time  he  wrote  an  extended  article 
on  clothing  in  which  he  took  a  very  stringent  position  in 
favor  of  simplicity  of  dress  and  against  the  innovations 
creeping  in  on  the  Schwenkfelders.  By  1730  he  had 
completed  a  series  of  poetic  productions  collected  in  a 
volume  having  the  following  title  page  literally  translated  : 
''^Meditations,  that  is  studies  and  spiritual  explanations 
of  the  names  of  different  patriarchs  and  prophets  in  the 
Old  Testament  and  of  the  evangelists  and  apostles  in  the 
New  Testament  with  expositions  of  the  hidden  mysteries 
beariiig  on  Christ  the  Son  of  God  who  was  to  and  did  as- 
sume fesh  and  in  it  did  redeem  his  people  and  unite  man 
with  God;  composed,  meditated  and  arranged  in  simple 
rhy^ne  according  to  the  mind  {Sinn^  of  the  Holy  Spirit  and 
the  Holy  Scriptures.'"  About  the  same  time  he  practically 
rewrote  Suderman's  hymns  based  on  the  Song  of  Solomon 
rearranging  the  same,  assigning  a  suitable  melody  and  in 
many  cases  adding  one  or  more  stanzas.  In  1733,  he 
began  to  write  letters  to  various  members  of  the  Schwenk- 
felder community  on  Scripture  passages  as  a  means  of  reli- 
gious culture  and  thus  in  a  little  more  than  a  year  composed 
material  that  would  fill  almost  400  pages  of  a  book  octavo 
size.     After  the  migration  to  Pennsylvania  he  continued 


i88  The  Pennsylvania- German  Society. 

this  doctrinal  and  devotional  letter  writing.  At  death  he 
left  incomplete  several  series  of  studies  in  the  line  of  re- 
vealed theology,  and  about  i,6oo  catechetical  questions 
on  creation,  prayer,  the  Lord's  Pra3'er,  faith,  the  Ten  Com- 
mandments, the  Christian  church,  the  knowledge  of  Christ, 
Baptism,  the  Lord's  Supper  and  marriage. 

Balzer  Hoffman,  like  his  bosom  friend  George  Weiss, 
was  born  in  Harpersdorf,  1687,  and  under  like  circum- 
stances came  to  Pennsylvania,  where  he  died  in  1775.  The 
importance  of  his  father  Christopher  is  indicated  by  his 
being  chosen  as  one  of  the  three  Schwenkfelders  to  go  to 
Vienna  to  plead  tolerance  before  Charles  VL  Like  Weiss, 
young  Balthasar  also  copied  his  Postill  before  he  was 
thirteen  years  old.  During  the  Vienna  mission  he  as 
one  of  the  three  aided  in  placing  seventeen  memorials 
before  Charles.  His  son  Christopher  made  out  a  descrip- 
tive catalogue  of  his  writings,  the  original  of  which  is  in 
the  possession  of  Hon.  S.  W.  Pennypacker.  According 
to  said  catalogue,  the  period  of  his  productive  writing  ex- 
tends at  least  from  1722  to  1773.  The  catalogue  enumer- 
ates 58  tracts,  refers  to  83  letters  and  fails  to  mention  his 
hymns,  his  historical  sketches  and  minor  productions. 
The  writings  are  classified  under  three  heads  :  {a)  Studies 
of  the  Bible  either  by  verses  or  chapters;  {b)  other  useful 
studies  and  confessions,  and  (c)  studies  of  hymns.  Want 
of  space  forbids  enumeration  of  these.  Among  the  more 
important  efforts  are  the  following  : 

1722.  A  short  catechism. 

1724.  A  postill  called  Efistasia  on  the  Epistle  lessons 
of  the  church  year.  He  arranged  the  same  texts  in  rhymes 
1726  and  composed  prayers  to  accompany  them  1738. 

1725.  A  study  of  the  epistle  to  the  Hebrews  called  Hex- 
atomus. 


Bibliography.  189 

1734.  A  postill  on  the  gospel  lessons  for  the  church  year 
called,  Evangelische  Jahr  Betrachtung.  He  prepared 
questions  as  a  guide  for  the  study  of  these  in  1744  and  also 
arranged  them  in  rhyme. 

1743.  A  glossary  in  German  of  Scripture  terms. 

175 1.  A  careful  study  of  the  Apostle's  Creed. 

He  composed  studies  of  many  hymns,  wrote  out  in  com- 
parative fullness  his  "  Gedachtniss  tag"  sermons,  prepared 
historical  sketches  of  the  Schwenkfelders  and  worked  out 
elaborate  productions  in  the  line  of  revealed  theology. 
One  of  these  was  called  HodophcBuum.  He  seems  to 
have  supervised  the  copying  of  the  Weiss  hymn-book  by 
his  son  Christopher,  and  thus  performed  serviceable  work 
preliminary  to  the  hymn-book  of  1762.  Before  the  migra- 
tion, he  at  various  times,  quaintly  used  the  pseudonym, 
Barachiah  Heber  or  implied  his  initials  B.  H.  by  placing 
prominently  on  the  title  page  two  words  beginning  with 
these  letters. 

Christopher  Schultz,  son  of  Melchior,  was  born  in  Har- 
persdorf,  17 18,  was  taken  to  Saxony  by  his  parents  at  the 
time  of  their  flight,  came  as  an  orphan  to  Pennsylvania 
and  died  in  1789.  He  was  a  remarkable  man  and  for 
many  years  the  chief  figure  in  the  Schwenkfelder  com- 
munity. He  was  all  his  life  a  close  student,  a  clear 
thinker,  and  a  fearless,  Godfearing  Christian.  With  re- 
spect to  his  literary  work  the  following  cursory  remarks  at 
least  seem  in  place.  His  description  of  the  voyage  to 
Pennsylvania  in  1734  by  the  Schwenkfelders  is  a  classic 
in  its  way,  and  does  credit  to  an  orphan  of  sixteen.  He 
collected  some  of  the  letters  of  George  Weiss  and  probably 
his  catechetical  questions  also  about  the  year  1743.  He 
copied  Hoffman's  Hcxatomtcs,  1746,  and  probably  aided  in 
the  preparation  of  a  paper  on  marriage  with  respect  to 


IQO  The  Pennsylvania- German  Society. 

views  and  customs  among  the  Schwenkf elders,  1748. 
From  1750  to  1775  he  wrote  the  Historische  Anmerckun- 
gen^  published  in  the  Americana  Germana,  Volume  II., 
No.  I.  From  a  letter  to  his  friend  Israel  Pemberton  the 
following  words  are  quoted  :  "  With  these  presents  I  do  re- 
turn the  remarks  on  the  behavior  of  Paupanahoal,  having 
copied  and  translated  the  same  into  high  Dutch.  It  hath 
been  very  acceptable  to  several  of  my  friends  who  rejoice 
in  perceiving  the  hand  of  grace  to  operate  so  strongly  on 
the  poor  heathen."  In  the  publication  of  the  Neu-Einge- 
richtetes  Gesanghtich  of  1762  he  was  a  hearty  worker.     In 

1763  the    first  edition  of  his    Catechism  was  issued.     In 

1764  he  led  the  Schwenkfelders  in  organizing  the  school 
system  described  in  another  chapter.  In  1768  he  prepared 
a  short  sketch  of  Schwenkfeld  and  his  followers  at  the 
request  of  his  friends,  Anthony  Benezet  and  Israel  Pem- 
berton, which  with  other  material  was  sent  to  the  Queen 
of  England,  Charlotte  of  Mecklenburg-Strelitz.  The 
Oueen  had  heard  of  the  Schwenkfelders  at  home,  made 
inquiries  concerning  them  on  coming  to  England,  sent 
greetings  to  them  through  Jacob  Haagen,  a  Quaker,  and 
expressed  a  desire  to  see  their  books  and  know  more  of 
them.  In  1770  he  translated  one  of  Schwenkf  eld's  tracts 
on  the  Christian  life  for  the  benefit  of  Quaker  boys  who 
were  at  his  home  to  study  German.  In  177 1  the  Erlciu- 
terungy  or  defense  of  Schwenkfeld  and  his  followers,  was 
issued  — to  a  great  extent  the  work  of  Christopher  Schultz. 
The  Compendium  or  Glauhenslehre  written  out  by  him 
was  begun  in  1775  and  finished  in  1783  and  then  allowed 
to  lie  in  manuscript  more  than  half  a  century.  In  1777 
he  translated  a  number  of  letters  on  education  which 
had  been  published  in  the  Pennsylvania  Magazitie,  1775. 
In  1782  he  drew  up  the  constitution  of  the  Schwenkf  elder 


Bibliography.  191 

Society  or  Church.  After  subjecting  the  first  edition  of 
his  Catechism  to  a  severe  scrutiny  and  consequent  revision, 
he  issued  a  second  edition  in  1784.  It  may  be  of  interest 
to  quote  the  following  words  from  Yeakel's  History  of 
the  Evangelical  Association^  Volume  I.,  page  48:  The 
Schwenkf elders  had  "  also  some  very  good  books,  espe- 
cially an  excellent  Catechism,  of  which  Rev.  William  W. 
Orwig  made  a  liberal  use  in  compiling  the  second  Cate- 
chism for  the  Evangelical  Association,  published  in  1846." 
A  cursory  examination  shows  that  in  many  cases  the  exact 
wording  was  embodied,  in  others  slight  variations  were 
made.  Singularly  the  author  failed  to  acknowledge  any 
indebtedness  to  any  one  for  his  Catechism.  Christopher 
Schultz  took  an  active  part  in  the  Heintze  correspondence 
and  on  various  occasions  came  to  the  defence  of  the  faith 
in  vigorous  controversial  writings.  His  sermons  at  mar- 
riages, funerals,  and  on  memorial  days,  he  in  many  cases 
wrote  out  quite  fully,  and  in  such  shape  they  are  still  pre- 
served. A  study  of  his  orthography  shows  that  after  he 
had  begun  his  literary  work  he  deliberately  changed  his 
system  of  spelling.  While  he  was  thus  toiling  he  also 
served  as  pastor,  gratis,  won  his  food  and  raiment  and 
made  himself  generally  useful  to  the  community. 

Dr.  Abraham  Wagner,  son  of  Melchior,  was  born  1715 
(circa)  and  came  to  Pennsylvania  1737,  where  he  died 
1763.  He  was  an  earnest  broad-minded  Christian  and  a 
great  reader.  He  collected  poems  of  John  Kelpius,  ex- 
tensive biographical  notes  on  Spener  whom  he  admired 
and  wrote  a  beautiful  letter  to  Muhlenberg  quoted  in  the 
Hallesche  Nachrichten.  His  poetic  productions  began  be- 
fore he  was  18  and  continued  to  his  death.  More  than 
fifty  of  these  products  are  still  preserved. 


ip2  The  Petmsylvanta-German  Society. 

Christopher  Wiegner,  the  diarist,  son  of  Adam  Wiegner, 
was  born  in  Harpersdorf,  17 12.  During  the  flight  of  the 
Schwenkfelders  he  was  taken  to  Gorlitz,  by  his  parents, 
where  he  soon  came  to  take  an  active  part  in  the  religious 
life  of  the  community.  He  began  to  keep  a  diary  or  rec- 
ord of  his  experiences  during  this  time  and  kept  it  up 
until  1739,  thus  covering  the  life  among  the  Moravians  in 
Saxony,  the  migration  to  Pennsylvania  and  life  in  Mont- 
gomery county.  It  furnishes  many  interesting  and  authen- 
tic details  of  the  momentous  period  in  which  he  lived.  It 
is  to  be  hoped  that  ways  and  means  may  be  found  for  put- 
ting the  same  into  print.  For  further  details  see  Chapter 
VIII. 

David  Schultz,  the  surveyor,  son  of  George,  was  born 
in  1717,  came  with  his  father  to  Pennsylvania  in  1733  on 
account  of  persecutions  and  settled  in  the  Goshenhoppen 
valley  where  he  died,  1797.  He  wrote  an  account  of  the 
migration  to  Pennsylvania  of  the  company  with  which  he 
came  published  in  the  Pennsylvania  Magazine  of  History 
and  Biography y  Vol.  X.,  page  167.  He  was  a  great 
reader  and  almost  incessant  writer  and  in  his  general  re- 
lations one  of  the  most  important  men  of  his  community. 
He  kept  a  diary  in  interleaved  almanacs  that  came  to  light 
a  few  years  ago  and  were  in  part  published  by  the  late 
Henry  S.  Dotterer  in  The  Perkiomen  Rcgio7i.  In  an- 
nouncing this  publication  the  editor  said  :  "  In  the  next 
number  of  the  Perkiomen  Region  we  shall  commence  the 
publication  of  a  MS.  of  extraordinary  historical  interest. 
It  relates  especially  to  the  early  settlements  at  Goshen- 
hoppen—  old  and  new,  Falkner  Swamp,  Hereford,  Hosen- 
sack.  Great  Swamp,  Colebrookdale  and  Salford,  but  in  a 
wider  sense  it  furnishes  a  great  amount  of  authentic  infor- 
mation regarding  the  Colonial  period,  its  people  and  their 


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193 


interests.  It  is  the  journal  kept  by  David  Shultze,  immi- 
grant, colonist,  surveyor,  scrivener,  law  adviser,  a  resident 
of  Upper  Hanover  township  in  the  Perkiomen  Valley.  In 
his  journal  three  languages  are  employed,  German,  Eng- 
lish and  Latin."  He  wrote  a  number  of  poems,  one  of 
these  on  the  death  of  his  wife,  murdered  June,  1750,  and 
scattered  notes  suggest  that  he  contemplated  publishing  a 
book.  Rev.  C.  Z.  Weiser  wrote  these  words  concerning 
him:  "We  have  abundant  records  to  show  that  he  had 
been  the  recognized  scrivener,  conveyancer,  surveyor  and 
general  business  agent  for  the  frontier  settlers  scattered 
over  a  wide  district  in  Eastern  Pennsylvania  as  far  down 
as  1797. 

Christoph  Hoffman  son  of  Balthasar  Hoffman  was  born 
in  1732  and  received  a  careful  religious  training  at  the 
hands  of  his  father.  Between  1758  and  1760  he  copied 
the  Weiss  hymn  book.  As  a  catechist  he  made  record 
of  the  work  done  by  him  and  his  class,  he  wrote  an  inter- 
esting account  of  his  father's  life  and  labors  and  collected 
and  catalogued  his  writings  in  1795.  As  minister  he 
delivered  sermons  on  various  occasions  which  are  still 
preserved. 

Christoph  Kriebel  son  of  Christoph  came  to  Pennsyl- 
vania with  his  parents  as  a  lad  of  14  in  1734.  -^^  ^^^ 
younger  days  he  copied  a  number  of  manuscript  volumes. 
At  the  religious  conference  of  1762  he  took  an  active  part 
and  read  a  paper  that  met  with  approval  by  the  company. 
He  became  a  catechist  and  later  a  preacher  among  the 
Schwenkfelders.  As  such  he  wrote  out  some  of  his  ser- 
mons, one  series  consisting  of  twenty  sermons  on  the  sac- 
raments. He  recorded  the  questions  and  answers  in 
connection  with  his  Bible  classes  in  four  volumes  extend- 
ing from  1764  to  1797.  He  took  a  leading  part  in  the 
13 


ip4  The  Pennsylvania- German  Society. 

Heintze  correspondence  and  made  a  collection  of  copies  of 
the  more  important  letters  received  and  sent. 

Of  the  publications  relating  to  the  Schwenkfelders  the 
following  items  may  be  noted  : 

1742.  Das  kleine  A.  B.  C.  in  der  S chide  Chris ti  — 
Dr.  Abraham  Wagner. 

1748.  Von  dent  wahren,  eivigen  Friedsame  Reiche 
Christi.     George  Frell  —  Germantown,  Saur. 

1748..  Auszug  aus  Christian  Hohburgs  Postilla  Mystica 
—  Saur. 

1762.  Neu-Eingerichtetes  Gesang-Biich  —  Germantown, 
Saur. 

This  is  a  hymn-book  5x7,  double  column,  containing 
xxxiii  4-  760  pages  with  three  indexes.  The  book  was  one 
of  the  most  ambitious  attempts  in  the  line  of  hymnology  in 
the  colony  up  to  that  time  and  must  have  meant  very  con- 
siderable labor  and  expense.  Christopher  Schultz  in  his 
Historische  Anmerckungen  says  in  substance  :  The  print- 
ing of  a  hymn-book  for  our  own  use,  discussed  for  some  time 
was  regarded  desirable  because  the  hymns  in  use  lay  scat- 
tered, the  old  printed  Picard  hymn-books  were  passing  out 
of  use  and  copying  was  a  tiresome  and  expensive  work. 
The  matter  came  to  an  issue  in  1759  in  such  form  that  a 
plan  was  agreed  upon  and  sufficient  subscribers  declared 
themselves,  and  it  was  decided  to  proceed  with  the  matter 
and  have  the  book  published.  To  prepare  the  manuscript 
for  the  printer  meant  an  incredible  amount  of  labor  and 
conferring.  The  printer  began  work  on  it  the  middle  of 
1761  and  finished  the  work  by  the  end  of  1762.  In  the 
introduction  are  found  the  following  words  :  "It  has  been 
the  object  to  gather  beautiful,  instructive  and  edifying 
hymns.  With  respect  to  the  beautiful  or  what  may  prop- 
erly be  called  the  beautiful  in  this  connection,  but  few  in 


Bibliography. 


195 


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A   FEW  TITLE   PAGES. 


196  The  Pennsylvania- Gertnan  Society. 

our  day  agree  nor  would  we  dispute  the  taste  and  judgment 
of  any  one.  With  those  however  who  find  the  beauty  of 
hymns  in  the  high  art  of  poesy,  graceful  words  and  in- 
genious flowery  style  or  sounds  pleasing  to  the  ears,  one 
hopes  to  win  but  scant  credit  through  this  collection.  Such 
will  do  well  to  look  for  these  things  not  here  but  elsewhere, 
though  no  innocent  use  of  these  things  is  disparaged.  For 
ourselves  we  chose  to  aim  for  what  is  beautiful  before  God 
in  order  that  it  may  meet  his  favor  and  glorify  Him.  With 
Him  a  pure  simplicity  is  an  ornament  of  beauty;  this  does 
not  mean  silliness  nor  ignorance  but  a  oneness  of  the  heart 
with  God,  a  condition  in  which  the  eye  of  the  mind  does 
not  concern  itself  with  what  is  pleasing  to  the  world,  the 
flesh  and  evil  lusts  thereof."  This  thought  influenced  their 
choice  of  selections  and  gave  tone  to  their  entire  work. 
Sixty  authors  are  represented.  The  old  Bohemian  and 
Moravian  hymns  sung  for  many  decades  by  the  fathers  of 
the  faith  received  special  consideration.  They  themselves 
made  the  following  contributions  : 

Dr.  Abraham  Wagner,  hymns  :  6,  7,  10,  14,  96,  109, 
139'  i73»  19I'  281,  283,  365,  457,  478,  495,  711,  733'  742» 
75I'  756,  787»  754'  789.  800.  802,  821,  822,  826,  832,  833, 
845,  847,  850,  463,  801. 

Balzer  Hoffman,  hymns;  i,  253,  303,  309,  310,  319, 
320,  350,  351,  352,  353,  354,  355,  374,  383,  571,  572, 
578,  579'  580,  581,  588,  589,  617,  618,  626,  627,  628,  705, 
709,  710,  755,  792,  854,  855,  856,  458,  573. 

Casper  Kriebel,  hymns:  234,  311,  619,  623,  629,  717, 
326. 

Christoph  Kriebel,  hymns  :  492,  714,  715,  716,  742,  745, 

746'  747- 

Christoph  Schultz,  hymns  :    157,  312,  360,  380,  469,  590, 

744- 

David  Seipt,  hymn  :  673. 


Bibliography.  197 

George  Weiss,  hymns:  3,  36,  37,  221,  222,  240,  246, 
247,  248,  252,  321,  422,  423,  468,  473,  486,  509,  532,  592, 
600,  601,  602,  603,  712,  713,  722,  777. 

These  constitute  123  numbers,  out  of  a  possible  917. 
By  the  time  the  second  revision  had'been  finished  in  1869, 
only  26  numbers  were  regarded  worthy  of  being  retained, 
a  result  in  harmony  with  the  general  tendency  to  drift  away 
from  the  old  moorings. 

1763.  Catechism  us  oder  A  nfdnglicher  Unterrichty  Christ- 
licher  Glaubens  Lehre.     Philadelphia,  Miller. 

1 77 1.  Erlciuterung  fiir  Herrn  Caspar  Schwenkfeld^ 
und  die  Ztigeihanen  seiner  Lehre.  Jauer.  Heinrich 
Christ  Mullern. 

A  part  of  the  title  page  of  this  book  literally  translated 
reads  as  follows  :  "  An  explanation  for  Casper  Schwenk- 
feld  and  the  adherents  of  his  faith  relating  to  many  points 
in  history  and  theology  which  commonly  are  presented  in- 
correctly or  passed  entirely  over,  in  which  their  history  to 
1740  is  briefly  told,  their  confessions  of  faith  are  summar- 
ized and  the  true  conditions  of  the  disputes  concerning  the 
ministry,  the  holy  Scriptures  and  the  glory  of  the  human- 
ity of  Jesus  Christ  are  unfolded  ;  truthfully  and  simply 
described  from  approved,  credible  and  many  hitherto  un- 
published documents  and  from  personal  experience,  offered 
to  the  service  of  all  seekers  after  and  lovers  of  the  truth 
by  a  few  of  those  who  sometime  ago  migrated  from  Sile- 
sia and  now  reside  in  Pennsylvania  in  North  America." 
The  necessity  for  a  publication  of  this  kind  was  felt  for 
some  time;  consequently  in  the  fall  of  1768,  it  was  re- 
solved to  issue  the  book.  During  the  following  winter 
Christopher  Schultz  prepared  the  manuscript  and  by  March 
a  printer's  copy  was  in  the  hands  of  their  friends,  the  Mora- 
vians, to  be  forwarded  to  their  European    correspondent 


198  The  Pennsylvania- German  Society. 

Heintze  at  Probsthayn  for  printing.  Heintze  received  it 
in  October,  1769,  and,  on  application  for  a  royal  conces- 
sion to  print,  gave  the  manuscript  to  the  proper  officers  for 
examination  who  did  not  return  the  same  until  July  19, 
1770,  with  the  desired  authorization  to  print.  The  print- 
ing of  the  edition  of  500  was  finished  in  April,  1771. 
Copies  were  received  in  Philadelphia  in  November,  1772, 
after  which  they  had  to  be  bound  by  the  Schwenkfelder 
book-binder,  Hoffman,  before  they  were  ready  for  general 
circulation. 

1772.  Dcr  Schwenkfelder  Glaubens-Bekenntnisz.  Im 
Jahr  1718.     Jauer. 

1784.  Kurze  Fragen  ueher  die  Christliche  Glaubens- 
Lehre.     Philadelphia,  Carl  Cist. 

1 79 1.  Christliche  Betrachttmgen  ueber  die  Evangel- 
ische  Texte.  Durch  Erasmum  Weichenhan,  Germantaun, 
Michael  Billmeyer. 

This  was  a  revised  edition  of  the  Sultzbach  edition  of 
1672.  Propositions  had  been  made  to  have  it  printed  be- 
fore the  breaking  out  of  the  Revolutionary  War  but  on 
account  of  this  it  was  put  off.  Christopher  Schultz  wrote 
the  sermons  for  Whitmonday  and  Ascension  Day.  He 
had  been  instructed  even  to  prepare  a  postill  for  the  whole 
church  year. 

1795.  An  Inaugural  Botanico- Medical  Dissertation  071 
the  Phytolacca  decandra  of  LinncBiis.  By  Benjamin 
Schultz,  of  Pennsylvania,  Member  of  the  Philadelphia 
Medical  Society.     Philadelphia,  Thomas  Dobson. 

1806.  Gcbct-Bilchlein^  Germantaun.    Michael  Billmj^er. 

1813.  JVcucingerichtetes  Gesangbuch- Philadelphia. 
Conrad  Zentler.      (Revised  edition  of  hymnbook  of  1762.) 

1816.  Dankbare  Erinnerung  an  die  Schzvenkf elder  in 
JVord  America  *  *  *  Gorlitz.      Heinze.     As  a  slight  token 


Early  Pennsylvania  Imprints.  199 

of  gratitude  for  favors  shown  to  their  fathers  1726-34,  the 
Schwenkfelders  in  1815  gave  163  Reichsthaler  to  the  peo- 
ple of  Gorlitz  and  in  relief  of  their  sore  distress  and  suffer- 
ings due  to  the  ravages  of  the  Napoleonic  war.  This 
sixty-four  page  book  was  published  by  the  magistrates 
and  councils  of  Gorlitz  as  a  thank  offering  for  the  gift. 

1819.  Oecono7nischcs  Hans  und  Kunst-Biich.  Von 
Johann  Krausz.     Allentown,  Heinrich  Ebner. 

1819.  Einige  Christliche  und  Lehrreiche  Send-Briefe. 
Schwenkfeld.     Allentown,  Heinrich  Ebner. 

1820.  Von  dcr  Hinunlische  Ai'zeney.  Schwenkfeld. 
Allentown,  Heinrich  Ebner. 

1820.  An  article  on  the  Schwenkfelders  was  published 
in  the  Amerikanische  Ansichten  composed  by  John  Schultz. 

1830.  ErldiUeriing  fiir  Herrn  Caspar  Schwenckfeld. 
Sumnytaun,  E.  Benner.     (Revision  of  edition  in  1771.) 

1835.  Ein  christUcher  Send-Brief  vom  Gebet 
Schwenkfeld.     Allentown,  A.  and  W.  Blumer. 

1836.  Comfendtum  von  Christofh  Schultz^  vollendet 
lySj.     Philadelphia,  Schelly  and  Lescher. 

1842.  Christliche  Betrachtungen  ueber  die  Evangelische 
Texte,  Erasmus  Weichenhan.  Allentown,  V.  und  W. 
Blumer. 

1844.  A  History  of  Religious  Denominations  published 
by  I.  Daniel  Rupp  contains  an  article  on  the  Schwenk- 
felders by  Isaac  Schultz.  This  was  republished  in  the 
Desilver  History  of  1859. 

1846.  Lchr  Tractate  *  *  *  durch  Casper  Schzi'cnhfeld. 
Allentown,  Blumer  and  Busch. 

185 1.  Constitution  *  *  *  wie  auch  IVebcn-Gcseize  *  *  * 
von  Josua  Schultz.    Allentaun,  Guth,  Young  and  Trexler. 

1855.  Kurze  Fragcn  i'tbcr  die  Christliche  Glaitbcns- 
Lehre.  Skippackville,  J.  M.  Schunemann.  (Third  edi- 
tion of  Catechism.) 


200  The  Pennsylvania- German  Society. 

1858.  Lehrund  Ordnungs-Regeln.  Von  Josua  Schultz. 
(Date  and  place  of  publication  not  fully  established.) 

1858.  The  Heavenly  Balm  and  the  Divine  Physician. 
By  Casper  Schwenkfeld,  translated  by  Rev.  F.  R.  An.- 
spach,  D.D.    Baltimore,  published  by  Abraham  Heydrick. 

1859.  Fi'inf  Ahhandlungen  aus  den  Theologischen 
Schrifften  von  Caspar  Schivenchfeldt.  Skippackville,  J. 
M.  Schiinemann  &  Co. 

i860.  Aus/uhrliche  Geschichte  Kaspar  v.  Schwenk- 
felds^  und  der  Schivenkfelder  *  *  *  von  Oswald  Kadel- 
bach.     Lauban,  vom  M.  Baumeister. 

1861.  Oeffentliche  Correspondenzen  Zwischen  Josua 
Schultz  und  Daniel  Weiser,  ifn  Jahr  18^8  *  *  *  Lans- 
dale,  John  Schupe. 

1863.  Short  questions  concerning  the  Christian  Doctrine 
of  Faith,  by  the  Reverend  Christopher  Schultz.  Trans- 
lated by  Prof.  I.  Daniel  Rupp.  Skippackville,  J.  M. 
Schiinemann. 

1869.  Neueingerichtetes  Gesang-Buch.  Skippackville, 
A.  E.  Dambly. 

1870.  Casper  Schwenkfeld  and  the  Schwenkf elders. 
C.  Z.  Weiser,  in  Mercersburg  Review. 

1874.  Schwenkf  elders.  By  P.  E.  Gibbons,  in  Pennsyl- 
vania Dutch.     Philadelphia,  J.  B.  Lippincott  &  Co. 

1875.  Glaubens-Lehren  und  Bekenntnisse  der  zwei 
ersten  Predigern  der  Schwenkf  elder  in  Amerika. 

1876.  Pficht der Eltern gegen  ihre  Kinder  *  *  *  sanimt 
Einleitung,  Trauform^und Gebet.  Skippack, A. E. Dambly. 

1876.  Religious  Societies  of  the  Co7mnonwealth.  By 
Barclay.     London. 

1879.  Genealogical  Record  of  the  Descendants  of  the 
Schwenkf  elders .  By  the  Rev.  Reuben  Kriebel,  with  an 
historical  sketch  by  C.  Heydrick.  Manayunk,  Josephus 
Yeakel. 


THE    FENNSYLUANIA-GERnA/N     SOCIETY. 


^l^^y^T^  •'  maUi  ^^^^ '-•^'^  ^.V.^  ^^Tr)^ 


■•■    * ,  Jubyl;^filS;fSS-i 


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PHOTO  J   .    F.   SACMSE 

SPECiriEN    TENNSYLVANlA-QERnAN    SAHFLER. 

WROUQMT     BY     REOINA     MEEBNER.     \79k-. 


Literature.  201 

1882.  Constitution  of  the  Schwenkf  elder  soeiety  as  also 
By-Lazvs.     Skippack,  A.  E.  Dambly. 

1886.  Der  Schwenkf  elder  Glaubens-Bekeniitnisz  *  *  * 
im  Jahr  iyi8. 

1889.  Casper  Schwenkf  eld.  By  Jesse  Yeakel,  in  a  Ger- 
man Quarterly. 

1894.    Coniite  Bericht. 

1898.  Formula  for  the  Government  and  Discipline  of  the 
Schwenkfelder  Church.    Philadelphia,  J.  B.  Lippincott  Co. 

1898.  The  Schzv enkf elders.  By  Howard  M.  Jenkins,  in 
Friends'  Quarterly  Examiner . 

1898.  Americana  Germanica  published  the  Historische 
Anmerckungen  and  School  documents  of  1764. 

1899.  "^^^^  Schwenkf  elders.  By  H.  Y.  S.  (Joseph 
Henry  Dubbs)  in  College  Student. 

1902.  Formula  for  the  Government  and  Discipline  of 
the  Schzv  enkf  elder  Church.  Revised  edition.  Philadel- 
phia, J.  B.  Lippincott  Co. 

Simple  justice  demands  in  this  connection  a  reference  to 
the  researches  and  labors  of  Ober  Lehrer  Heinrich  August 
Friedrich  Schneider.  Born  in  Posen  in  1806,  he  studied 
for  the  ministry  but  on  account  of  sickness,  changed  his 
plans  and  became  teacher  of  English  in  the  Konigliche 
Real  Schule,  Berlin  in  1842,  which  place  he  filled  until 
a  nervous  trouble  compelled  him  to  resign  in  1872.  His 
studies  in  theology  led  him  to  read  church  history  and  thus 
he  came  to  be  interested  in  Schwenkf  eld  before  his  stu- 
dent days  were  over.  To  1875,  when  he  sold  his  immense 
and  invaluable  Schwenkfeldiana,  he  devoted  all  his  spare 
time  to  this  line  of  study.  He  published  a  history  of  Lieg- 
nitz  with  reference  to  the  Schwenkfelders  and  an  account 
of  early  Schwenkfelder  hymn  writers.  He  had  collected 
material  for  an  extensive  biography  of  Schwenkfeld.     His 


202  The  Pennsylvania- German  Society. 

library  was  scattered  by  the  sale  of  1875,  a  part  being 
bought  by  the  Hartford  Theological  Seminary.  To  his 
dying  day  he  had  a  warm  heart  for  his  chosen  line  of 
study  and  loved  to  talk  of  it. 

These  remarks  may  fittingly  be  brought  to  a  close  by  a 
brief  reference  to  the  most  recent,  most  elaborate  and  most 
exhaustive  work  in  the  line  of  literature  relating  to  the 
Schwenkfelders.  In  1884  the  publication  of  a  Corpus 
Schwenkfeldianorum  was  undertaken  under  the  editorship 
of  President  C.  D.  Hartranft  of  the  Hartford  Theological 
Seminary.  An  edition  of  the  works  of  Schwenkfeld  is  in 
preparation  which  aims  to  furnish  : 

1.  A  critical  text,  various  readings,  the  original  margi- 
nalia, explanatory  notes  and  full  apparatus.  The  notes, the 
preface,  the  prolegomena,  etc. , to  be  in  the  English  language. 

2.  The  chronological  order  of  the  documents  without 
regard  to  encyclopaedic  arrangement. 

3.  The  text,  in  smaller  type,  of  all  unpublished  letters 
addressed  to  Schwenkfeld  or  Crautwald,  or  that  make 
mention  of  them.  If  previously  edited,  references  to  the 
editions  will  be  given  in  the  text.  The  text  of  all  acts  or 
historical  documents  hitherto  unpublished  which  refer  to 
them,  will  be  printed  in  a  similar  way. 

4.  The  portraits  and  pictures  in  connection  with  the  per- 
sons in  the  history,  in  the  year  of  their  appearance. 

5.  Facsimile  specimens  of  the  MSS. 

6.  A  full  bibliography  of  the  literature. 

7.  Indices  of  persons,  places  and  subject  matter  to  each 
volume. 

8.  A  history  in  English  of  the  Reformation  by  the 
Middle  Way.  This  is  already  in  course  of  preparation. 
Although  it  is  to  be  published  after  the  text  has  appeared, 
it  will  nevertheless  be  numbered  as  the  first  volume  of  the 
series. 


CHAPTER  XIII. 
Concluding  Remarks. 

CCORDING  to  the  official  notice  from 
the  Society  the  assigned  task  in  the 
present  undertaking  was  "to  write  a 
paper  on  the  Schwenkfelders  especially 
with  regard  to  their  history  in  this 
Commonwealth."  The  author  could, 
therefore,  not  indulge  in  the  pleasant 
pastime  of  tracing  out  and  singing  the 
glories  of  all  the  lines  of  descent.  To 
do  so  would  mean  at  the  least  a  search  through  Canada 
and  through  the  northern  tier  of  States  beginning  with 
Massachusetts,  Connecticut,  New  Jersey  and  Maryland, 
westward  through  the  different  commonwealths  to  the 
Pacific  Ocean.  The  descendants  were  and  are  found 
in  all  walks  of  life  — some  even  having  done  time  in 
prison  cells.  An  attempt  indeed  was  made  at  collating  a 
list  of  prominent  descendants,  with  a  view  of  inserting  the 
same  in  this  history  but  for  a  variety  of  reasons  this  had 
to  be  abandoned.  The  classification  of  the  skilled  pro- 
fessions pursued  by  these  would  show  eminent  lights  m 
callings  like  the  following:  Artisans,  artists,  authors, 
doctors,  editors,  inventors,  judges,  governor,  lawyei^,  leg- 
islators, ministers,  missionaries,  manufacturers,  musicians, 

203 


204  The  Pennsylvania- German  Society. 

merchants,  presiding  elders,  bishops,  president  and  pro- 
fessors of  theological  seminaries,  professors  in  colleges  and 
seminaries,  teachers,  soldiers  both  in  the  ranks  and  as 
officers. 

The  Genealogical  Recoi'd  of  the  Descendants  of  the 
Schzvenkfelders  published  in  1879,  ^  niost  excellent  work 
in  itself,  though  not  free  from  error  and  far  from  being  ex- 
haustive, gives  in  addition  to  the  Schwenkfelder  names  of 
1734,  more  than  200  patronymics  brought  by  intermarriage 
into  connection  with  the  lines  of  Schwenkfelder  descend- 
ants. The  descendants  of  Tobias  Hartranft  hold  family 
reunions  where  hundreds  assemble  each  year.  Of  the 
descendants  of  David  Wagener  who  wandered  to  the  Bush- 
kill  in  Northampton  Co.,  there  are  hundreds  in  Easton 
alone  to-day.  Jemima  Wilkinson  the  religious  enthusiast 
and  impostor,  drew  David  Wagener,  the  son  of  Melchior, 
to  New  York,  where  the  descendants  are  numerous  and 
prominent.  Settlements  in  various  western  states  might 
also  be  enumerated. 

With  respect  to  church  connection,  descendants  are  found 
in  the  Catholic  Church  and  in  many  branches  of  the 
Protestant  church,  particularly,  United  Brethren,  Congre- 
gational, Evangelical,  Lutheran,  Reformed,  Presbyterian, 
Baptist,  Methodist,  Mennonite  and  also  even  in  the  broad 
"  Pennsylvania." 

Though  the  present  body  of  "  Schwenkfelders"  can 
claim  scant  credit  for  the  high  honors  won  by  their  distant 
brotherhood  they  may  at  least  with  them  rejoice  in  the 
common  pious  ancestry  and  thank  God  for  what  He  has 
done  for  the  children  through  and  on  account  of  the 
parents,  remembering  that  the  mercy  of  the  Lord  is  from 
everlasting  to  everlasting  upon  them  that  fear  Him,  and 
His  righteousness  unto  children's  children. 


Hppen&lr. 


U 


KV 


.sm^l^ 


(205) 


Note  by  Editor :  —  For  various  obvious  reasons  this  letter  and  the  fol- 
lowing marriage  contract  are  carefully  reproduced  as  to  spelling,  etc 
The  italicized  words  were  written  in  Latin  script,  the  rest  in  German. 

<^Ofy  ein  lie&er  alter  greunb  ©eBaftian!  ®§  ift  mir  cine  3eit  ^er 
'^^  offtmolS  in  meinem  ©emiiti)  getoefen  id)  folte  bic^  biirc^ 
©df)rei6en  ctlirfjer  rii3tf)igcr  Stiiffc  crinnccn,  bietiicil  luir  Inngc 
3eit  fo  biel  id)  U)ci^  aufridjtige  greiinbe  getoefen  [inb,  bamit  id) 
metner  feitB  boc^  aud)  bie  ^tlid)ten  timet  Sreunbfd)iQft  erfiillen, 
unb  mid^  ber  ©d^ulb  eTttloben  mod)te  berer  ic^  mic^  bitrd)  @c^tt)ei= 
gen  tI)eiI^Qftig  ma^en  rooirbe,  unb  sugleid^'  aud)  too  moglid)  bir  in 
beinem  SSerrennen  nii^Iid)  fetin  mod)te.  ©o  ni^m§  bod)  Quf  (ofjne 
bir  toeiter  i)iel  Ilmftanbe  boraumol^Ien)  al§>  bon  eineni  alten 
greunbe,  toQ§  bir  in  folgenben  Beilen  au§'  toe{)mittl)igem  ^^er^en 
aU  ein  ©^iegel  borgel^alten  toirb. 

^d)  r^abe  mit  bir  311  9fieben  qI§  mit  einem  SWitgliebe  eine^ 
^Qufeg  bQ§  ben  ^ntooI)nern  be§  efiemoB  fre^en  ^^ennfljlDnntn  @e= 
fe^e  gieBt,  unb  biefelBen  (55e[e^e  and)  burc^  (Setoolt  bcr  SBaffen, 
Stroffen,  ©efangnijje,  2Iu!§fd)Iiffung  alter  Biirgerlid^en  Stec^te, 
of)ne  ba'^  fie  il^r  ©etoifjeu  Slatl^  fragen  biirffen,  ben  Befagten  ^n= 
toofinern  aufstoingct  toie  foId)e§  nun  bie  letst^erige  Xcft=3lcte  Be= 
geuget,  unb  baS^  9Serfa{)ren  gegen  Unfd)ulbige  @etoijfeul)affte  Seute 
nun  f)ie  bet)  un§  au»toeifel.  ®o  if)r  nun  aU  OJc^rcfcntantcn  ber 
(iintool^ner  "^NcnnftjIunntcnS  tooUet  angefeJien  fe^n,  unb  bon  roegen 
if)rer  agiren  toodct  fo  i)aht  ifir  unumganglid)  and)  bie  ^^flidjt  auf 
cud)  liegen,  bafe  il)r  baS^  toal^re  too{)I  aUcr  unb  jebcr  Glaffen  befag» 
ter  ©intoofincr,  fo  gut  aB  cuer  .©igcueS  an  eurem  ^ertjen  'i)abt 
unb  nid)t  bie  cine  ^artf)et)  burd)  llntcrbriidung  bcr  Stnbcnt  eT!)e= 
bet,  fo  fernc  fie  e§  nid)t  burd}  33ofer)afftigc  Untreue  ober  2aftcrl)af= 
tigfeit  Dcrfd)ulbet.    2}a  bu  nun  gar  tvoi)l  toeiffcft  ba\i  IJJcnnfl)!' 

{ 206) 


APPENDIX  A. 

Draft     of     Letter     by     Reverend     Christopher 
ScHULTz  TO  Sebastian  Levan,  Member  of  As- 
sembly, Dated,  Hereford,  August  12,  1777. 
(Seepage  155.) 

(Translation.)  My  dear  old  friend  Sebastian :  For  some 
time  it  has  often  been  in  my  mind  that  I  ought  in  writing 
to  remind  you  of  a  few  necessary  points,  since  for  a  long 
time  we  have  been  upright  friends  so  far  as  I  know  in 
order  that  I  on  my  part  may  fulfill  the  duties  of  true 
friendship  and  free  myself  of  the  blame  of  which  by  my 
silence  I  would  make  myself  guilty  and  that  at  the  same 
time  if  possible  I  may  be  serviceable  to  you  in  your  erring 
conduct.  Without  my  further  detailing  to  you  many  par- 
ticulars, receive  therefore  what  is  held  before  you  mirror- 
like in  the  following  lines  as  coming  from  an  old  friend 
out  of  a  sorrowing  heart. 

I  wish  to  speak  with  you  as  with  a  member  of  a  House 
which  gives  laws  to  the  citizens  of  a  once  free  Pennsyl- 
vania and  also  without  taking  counsel  of  their  consciences 
forces  these  laws  upon  the  said  inhabitants  by  force  of 
arms,  fines,  imprisonments,  exclusion  from  all  civil  rights 
as  the  recent  Test-Act  and  the  proceedings  against  inno- 
cent, conscientious  people  with  us  here  shows.  If  you 
would  be  looked  upon  as  representatives  of  the  citizens  of 
Pennsylvania  and  would  act  in  their  behalf,  you  inevitably 
have  the  duty  resting  upon  you  to  take  to  heart  the  true 
welfare  of  each  and  every  class  of  said  inhabitants  as  well 
as  your  own  and  not  to  lift  up  one  party  through  the  sup- 
pression of  the  others  in  so  far  as  they  have  not  occasioned 

(  207  ) 


2o8  The  Pennsylvania- German  Society. 

Ijonten  onfanglid^  'to^^  ©igentl^um  tear  (6et)be§  in  STnfefiung  bes 
Sonbeg  qI§  aitdj  bofe  9te(^t§  ber  Stegierung)  folc^eter  Seute,  bie  ba 
©etDtffenfialber  bebenfen  tragen  anbere  9}?enf(f)eTt  gu  tobten;  tote 
Qud)'  fe^r  Bebadjtig  finb,  fid)  on  6t)bc§  ©tatt  in  ©tmo?  einjulaffen, 
tooron  fie  nic^t  genitng  getrife  radren  'ba'^  fie  in  ber  2Sa]^rf)eit  unb 
Qud)  Beftcinbig  boBet)  bleiben  fonnten,  unb  bo  bn  gugleid)  meifeft 
'iio,^  bergl.  Seute  nod)  bie  9)?enge  I)ie  borfionben  finb,  ja  einen 
•groffen  tl^eil  ber  Slnfe^nlidiften,  unb  hiolgefeffenen  unb  UnBefc^oI= 
tenen  ©intoofinern  Qu§mad)en.  ©o  fragt  man  ja  toolnot^hpenbig 
toenn  man  eure  5Xcten  anfie^et,  unb  sugleid)  fiif)Iet  toie  fie  appli= 
cirt  toerben.  ^abt  il^r  euc^  ben  tool  \m^^\^  in  euren  ^erfeen  on 
biefer  Seute  ©tott  geftelfet,  unb  ifire  getoiffenS  Slngelegenlieiten  al§ 
eure  eigne  Qngefer)en  unb  rc^rcfcntttt?  ©ber  toeifetS  fid)§  nid)t 
bielmefir  au§  ^o?p,  i()r  fie  fiir  ben  nid)t^  toertl^igften  5tu§ferid)t  l^al' 
let,  ben  if)r  oufs  dufferfte  untertretten,  unb  qu§  bem  Sanbc  ber- 
bringen  tooltet?  ^ft§  nid)t  olfo,  toorum  lieget  mein  ^Better  ©eorge 
SlrieBel  in  ©afton  ©efangnife?  Unb  mufe  fid^  fagen  laffen  toenn  er 
nic^t  ®d)todret  toie  i^r  tooHet,  fo  fdnne  er  eiier  nid)t  I)erau§  !om- 
men,  qI§  bife  man  bie  ©einen  mit  SSerlaffung  aEer  @iiter  gu  ben 
geinben  iiberliefert?  SBorum  Beraubct  iJ)r  un§  benn  aEer  Siirger= 
lichen  unb  @etoiffen§=t5ret)]f)eiten,  'iid'^  nic^t§  me!)r  foE  Unfer  fe^n, 
nid)t  mef)r  auf  @otte§=@rbboben  ^anbeln  unb  toanbein  biirffen 
unb  alfo  gar  nit^t  leben  foUen?  blofe  aHein  toeif  toir  bebenden 
toa§  3U  unfer  ©eelen  unb  @emiitf)§  9tuf)e  uv^  Srieben  bienlid^ 
fet)n  mdge.  SBeil  toir  fac^en  nid)t  befd)tooren  toolten  bie  je^t  bon 
dufeerfter  Ungetoifel^eit  finb  ob  toir  tocrben  beftdnbig  babet)  blei- 
^tv.  fdnnen,  unb  toir  follen  un§  bod^  bariiber  berfd^toijren.  S)ife 
ift  ia  bo(^  bie  ©umma  bon  biefer  ©oc^e,  "iiOi^  ibr  un§  l^ie  ©ad)en 
3umutf)et  unb  bet)  SSerluft  aEe§  toa§  einem  in  ber  SSelt  lieb  fet)n 
fan  aufleget,  'i^o?^  nie  fein  ^ranne  ja  fein  S^artar  nod)  ^iirfe  biel* 
toeniger  eine  ©briftlic^e  9^egierung  in  borigen  3eiten  geforbert 
l^ot  'iifx^  man  nemlid)  unter  todf)renber  bi^igficn  ^tiege  unb  bor 
STuSgang   ber  ©ac^e,   einem  borigen  $erren   abfd^todren   folte. 


Scruples  of  Conscience.  209 

it  through  malicious  unfaithfulness  or  wickedness.  Since 
you  indeed  know  quite  well  that  Pennsylvania  was  origin- 
ally the  property  (both  in  regard  to  the  land  as  to  the  right 
of  government)  of  those  people  who  on  account  of  scruples 
of  conscience  have  misgivings  against  killing  other  people 
and  who  also  consider  very  carefully  before  entering,  in 
the  place  of  an  oath,  upon  a  course  concerning  which  they 
can  not  be  fully  assured  that  they  can  continue  in  the 
truth  and  steadfast  in  it,  and  as  you  at  the  same 
time  know  that  of  these  people  a  large  number  are 
still  here  and  constitute  a  great  part  of  the  most  respect- 
able, the  well-established,  and  irreproachable  citizens.  A 
necessary  question  when  one  considers  your  acts  and  feels 
how  they  are  applied  is  this  :  —  Have  you  in  your  hearts 
at  any  time  put  yourself  in  the  place  of  these  people  and 
viewed  and  represented  their  matters  of  conscience  as  your 
own?  Or  is  it  not  shown  that  you  consider  them  the  most 
worthless  sweepings  which  you  wish  to  suppress  to  the  ut- 
most and  crowd  out  of  the  land?  If  this  is  not  the  case 
why  is  my  cousin  George  Kriebel  imprisoned  in  the  Easton 
jail  and  must  let  himself  be  told  that  if  he  does  not  swear 
the  way  you  want  him  to,  he  can  not  be  set  free  until  his 
own  arc  delivered  to  his  enemies  with  abandonment  of  all 
his  property.  Why  do  you  rob  us  of  all  civil  liberty  and 
freedom  of  conscience  in  so  much  that  we  are  to  hold 
nothing  as  our  own,  we  are  not  allowed  to  trade  on  God's 
earth,  or  move  about  or  even  to  live  —  merely  because  we 
take  into  consideration  what  may  be  helpful  to  the  rest  and 
peace  of  our  souls  and  minds ;  because  we  are  unwilling 
to  take  oath  concerning  things  that  are  of  the  utmost  un- 
certainty whether  we  can  remain  true  to  the  same  and  yet 
we  are  to  bind  ourselves  by  oath.  This  is  the  sum  of  the 
whole  matter  that  you  expect  things  of  us  in  this  respect 
14 


2IO  The  Pennsylvania-German  Society. 

@icf)e  bid)  bocf)  in  bcr  §iftoricn  boriger  S^il^ert  urn  bit  inir^t  nic 
feine  bcrgleidien  Q)cUnyfen§  JJ^QvanncQ  nitflnei[en  fonnen.  %\i  etft)Q 
megen  ©pionen,  SSerrdtf^er  ober  bergleidjen  9)JaIefnctor§  zS^'mo.^ 
5u  tl^itn  notfiig  gelDefert  trie  bn§  '4>rcnni6Ic  Surer  Seft  9tcte  faget 
toarum  berlDirfelt  il^r  benn  itiildiulbige  Scute  mit  biefer  i^rer 
©Iraffen?  Ober  ino  ift  ber  ber  un§  joldjcr  .^tirtbel  mit  ')Sit^i  6e= 
geifjcu  fan,  Iq§  if)n  nuftretten?  ©inb  tuir  nid)t  immer  tDiUig  ge» 
iDefen  unfere  bolle  ^ro^Jortion  on  offerttlic^cn  Soften  sutragen  fo= 
tiiel  <x{%  mit  ©cmiffeu,  nemlid)  or)ne  Dftiiftung  gum  ^obldilagen 
fet)n  fan?  SSie  fomt§  \}^\i  i^r  nur  immer  ^tnc^  subeualjmen  i^a&t, 
ober  ba|3  mir§  unterm  Si^ittel  3'inc  iw  Be3aI)Ien  tiaben  masi  Don  un§ 
geforbert  roirb?  ©et)b  il^r  ba  unfcre  gctreue  9{c^jrcfcntantcn? 

D  mcin  lieBer  greunb!  ,^d)  Bitte  bid)  um  @otte§  miCeu  &e= 
bende  bid)  meil§  nod^  3eit  ift  '^v^  magft  lnof)I  jeist  bettden,  bu  bi[t 
mir  ein  fdjoner  greunb,  bofe  bu  mit  fo  groBen  Bragen  an  mid) 
fommeft.  2IBer  3f6er  e§  Bleibt  bir  fiirmaf)r  nid)t  auj[cn,  unb  ic^ 
irunfd)e  bciner  ©eelen  bon  .^ertsen  h^"^  e§  nid)t  su  fpdt  gefd]cf)e, 
^\x  tuirft  t)or  beme  bcme  mir  aHe  9?e(^en[d}afft  geBen  miiffen  einmal 
tJ^euer  antmorten  mii[fen,  oB  bu  Sljme  o.\x6)  ®ie  ©einen  mit  Hnter= 
briidung  Berii^rt  l^nBeft,  bte  uemlid^  il^re  ^offnung  unb  3Scrtrauen 
auf  ^sl)n  [tefieu,  bie  fid)  fd)euen  Sf)n  3u  Beleibigen,  m\^  bie  fid^ 
fiirc^ten  fiir  feinem  SSort. 

Sf)r  fet)b  nun  ouf  hQ&  W\X\%  SSBefen  fo  erpic^t,  al§  toenng  ber 
cin^ige  'Q^\x%  mare  ber  un»  ©olbirett  fonne,  unb  alle§  anbere 
mirb  mit  f)od)fter  ^Scroditnng  ja  ©traffe  angefef)en.  9^un  "i^w  mirft 
bid)  bod)  Q>.\\^  noc^  erinnern  fonnen,  ho,^  mir  get)dret  I>aBen,  ho,^ 
oHeS  in  ber  §anb  be§  ^od>ften  ftcl^et,  unb  ba|3  man  fid)  feinem 
©c^u^  bon  gantsem  ^er^en  folte  onbertrouen,  benn  er  fi3nne  unb 
folic  ©djiitjen  oHc  bie  gu  i^m  flicljcn,  unb  berlaffcn  fid)  nid)t  auf 
if)re  ©tcirfe.  3SoIan  mer§  nun  bon  .^cr^en  ^reu  unb  ^^cblid^ 
mit  feinem  Sanbe  met)nct;  3Bof)in  ja  moI)in  unb  3u  ma§  foH  cin 
foId)er  in  biefer  jammerlid)  Bebrangten  3eit  flicfien  ober  ma?  bor 


Burden  of   Test  Act.  211 

and  impose  them  upon  us  with  loss  of  all  that  one  holds 
dear  in  the  world,  things  that  no  tyrant,  nor  tartar  nor  turk 
much  less  a  Christian  government  in  former  times  de- 
manded, namely  that  in  the  midst  of  the  hottest  warfare 
and  before  the  conclusion  of  the  matter  a  former  lord  is  to 
be  denied  under  oath.  Consider  the  history  of  former 
times  and  you  will  not  be  able  to  show  a  like  tyranny  over 
conscience.  If  action  indeed  was  necessary  with  respect 
to  spies,  traitors  or  the  like  malefactors  as  the  preamble  of 
your  Test  Act  declares,  why  do  you  implicate  innocent 
people  in  their  punishment?  Or  where  is  he  who  can 
justly  accuse  us  of  such  things?  let  him  step  forth.  Have 
we  not  always  been  willing  to  bear  our  full  proportion  of 
the  public  burdens  as  far  as  might  be  done  conscientiously, 
that  is  without  preparation  for  manslaughter.  Why  is  it 
that  you  are  continually  speaking  of  fines  or,  that  what  is 
demanded  of  us  must  be  paid  under  the  name  fine?  Are 
you  here  our  true  representatives? 

O  my  dear  friend  !  I  beseech  you  for  God's  sake,  con- 
sider while  it  is  yet  time.  You  may  indeed  now  think, 
you  are  a  nice  friend  that  you  come  to  me  with  such  un- 
civil questions.  But,  but  you  will  indeed  not  escape,  and 
I  heartily  wish  for  the  sake  of  your  soul  that  it  may  not 
be  too  late,  that  you  will  have  to  answer  dearly  before 
him  before  whom  we  must  all  render  account,  whether 
you  have  oppressed  God's  own  who  place  their  hope  and 
trust  in  Him,  who  are  afraid  to  offend  Him  and  who  fear 
his  word. 

You  are  now  so  passionately  attached  to  the  militia  sys- 
tem, as  if  it  were  the  only  protection  that  could  save  us 
and  all  else  is  looked  down  upon  with  the  highest  con- 
tempt and  even  punishment.  You  can  doubtless  still  re- 
call that  we  have  heard  that  all  things  are  in  the  hands  of 


212  The  Petinsylvania- German  Society. 

9lu[tung  foH  cr  am  forberften  gebroucii'en  unb  fid)  brein  einfleiben 
obcr  mie  i^\xi  cr  am  Beften  cjcrctrcn. 

2)cein  licBer  greunb!  ©telte  bir§  bocf)  einmol  erne  btertel 
©tunbe  aI[o  bor;  Sii  fal^eft  einem  in  jeincm  berborgenen  2BindfeI 
liegen  bor  fcinem  ©ott  mit  T^eiffen  2;i)rancn  fein  imb  jeine§  2SoI(ie§ 
(Siinben  ben  grofjert  ^errfc^er  beid^ten  uub  befennen  unb  um  be^ 
einige§  35crfi3I)ner§  itnb  9D^ittIer§  iDillcn  bor  bag  Sanb  um  ^orm* 
]f)ert3igfcit  unb  SSerfc^onen  flefien,  ja  um  bie  ©rneuerung  unb  33ef= 
ferung  bcr  ^cr^en  oEer  ^ntoofmer  ber  and)  au§  bem  ©efiifjl  ber 
mitlcibcnbcn  Siebe,  ba  @ott  alle  2)cen[d)cn  licbet,  if)nen  Seben  unb 
Cbcm  gtcbct,  fcinem  ?ccben  -  2}Zenfd)cn  ba§  Seben  neljmcn  moltc. 
Su  faf)cjt  abcr  auf  ber  anbcrn  ©cite  cinen  unferen  gemo()nIid}en 
9WiIi^=^itrfd)en  cr  fet)  Officier  ober  ©emeiner  in  jcincr  orbitiaircn 
^pofitur  mic  bic  mciftcn  fid)  auf3icf)en  unb  feine  3[)?ilitarifd]en  (3e» 
fd)dfte  au§rid)tcn,  mie  meit  unfere  9JJiIi^cn  rcid)en;  'i^Oi  modjtc  i^ 
benn  gerne  bcincg  ©cmiffenS  urtljeil  I^oren,  mcldjeg  bon  bicfen 
bet)bcn  bcr  bcfte  SanbeS  -  ^efd)u^er  fet)?  %6)  urtl^eile  jener  tf)ut  fo 
bid  3um  roabrcn  ®c^ut3  al§  bon  bicfen  cine  ganlic  53ntattii)n  nic^t 
ausridjtet,  unb  mcr  tccife  ob  bic§  nidjt  onflopfet  bofe  bu  mir  fd)ier 
ted^t  gcben  foltcft?  'Wxiii  mir  ift§  al§  mcnn  id)  bir  fagen  borffte 
ol^ne  ^^5^  bu  gar  bid  an  ber  SBaljrfjcit  smcifdteft  foId)cr  S(rt  San= 
be^^befd)it^er  gicbt§  nod)  in  unfcrm  armen  ^^ennft)Ibanien  bie  mit 
il)rcm  ej:crciercn  3)nar  fein  SBcfcn  nod)  Sluffd^eng  mad)cn  bie  aber 
eigentlid)  bet  ^odjfte  in  feiner  JRoIIe  \)^i  unb  i^m  moIbe!annt  finb, 
baj5  fie  3U  fcinem  ^ccrlager  geI)oren,  ber  sal^Ict  ilf)re  ^f)rdnen  unb 
faffet  fie  in  fein  ©ad. 

£)  I^iite  bid)i  mein  lieber  ©ebaftian,  Ijiitc  bid),  \i<x^  bu  fcinem 
bon  bicfen  fianbe§=3Satern  unb  ©treittern  be§  ^crren  einige^  ScQb 
gufiigeft,  mic  id)  Iet)ber  3?ermutf)e  "i^o^^  mit  ctlid)en  euret  Ici3t]^cri= 
ger  3Icten  gcfd)cf)cn  ift^  met  gegen  fie  angcf)et  r)at§  mit  il)ren  §crrcn 
3u  lf)un.  Senn  ic^  mufe  mein  3SermutI)en  nid)t  betl^alten  'i^o!^  nem» 
ltd)  bicfer  35ortreffIid)cn  3(rt  Scute,  mclir  auf  bcr  ©cite  3U  finbcn 
finb  bie  cure  ?fctcn  unb  ©traffen  bdegen,  mcber  auf  ber  ©cite  fo 


Objections  to  Military  Service.  213 

the  Highest  and  that  one  ought  to  entrust  himself  wholly 
into  His  care,  since  he  can  and  will  protect  all  who  flee  to 
him  and  do  not  depend  on  their  own  strength. 

Now  then,  whoever  holds  true  and  honest  intentions  con- 
cerning his  country,  whither,  yea,  whither,  and  to  what 
shall  such  a  one  flee  in  the  present  pitiable,  distressful 
times  or  with  what  armor  shall  he  shield  or  clothe  himself 
or  what  is  the  best  way  of  "exercising"  for  him?  My 
dear  friend,  imagine  for  a  quarter  of  an  hour  the  mat- 
ter in  this  way ;  you  see  one  lying  in  his  secret  chamber 
before  his  God  with  hot  tears  confessing  and  acknowl- 
edging the  sins  of  himself  and  his  people  to  the  great 
ruler  and  pleading  for  mercy  and  forbearance  in  behalf  of 
his  land  through  the  only  atoner  and  mediator,  yea,  for 
the  renewal  and  betterment  of  the  hearts  of  all  inhabi- 
tants and  who  out  of  the  feelings  of  compassionate  love 
because  ?  God  loves  all  men  and  gives  them  life  and 
breath,  would  not  take  the  life  of  any  fellowman.  On  the 
other  side  you  see  one  of  our  ordinary  militia  fellows,  be 
he  officer  or  private,  in  his  ordinary  posture  as  the  most  of 
them  pose  and  performing  his  military  services  as  far  as 
our  militia  reach.  I  should  like  to  hear  the  judgment  of 
your  conscience  which  of  the  two  is  the  best  protector  of 
his  country?  I  judge  the  former  does  more  for  true  pro- 
tection than  a  whole  battalion  of  the  latter  can  accomplish 
and  who  knows  but  that  this  appeals  to  you  that  you  must 
admit  that  I  am  right.  And  I  feel  that  I  may  say  to  you 
without  your  seriously  doubting  the  truth  of  it  that  of  this 
class  of  defenders  of  the  country  some  are  still  to  be  found 
in  our  poor  Pennsylvania  who  indeed  make  no  ado  or  sensa- 
tion with  their  '*  exercising"  but  whom  the  highest  has  in 
books  and  who  are  well-known  as  belonging  to  his  army, 
who  also  counts  their  tears  and  puts  them  into  his  bottle. 


214  "^^^^  Pennsylvania-  German  Society. 

ber  Srommct  folgcn.  ^dj  fage  mefir,  bnBet)  it^  ben  Ic-^tern  i'^ren 
9fntf)C!l  nid)t  abftrcidie.  ^^d)  tniH  nur  fagcn  ein  tDQlirer  9tcprcfen= 
tant  beS  SonbeS  I)at  fid)  Don  @ott  imb  ©etDtffenS  ja  S^ei^t  imb 
58iIIigfeit  icegen  berer  (SiniDol^'ier  bie  @etDiffen§l^Qrbe  in  oHerlet) 
Si^fjfil'IWifcitcn  nid)t  eingefiGn  jo  treu  unb  forgfaltig  ansunefimen 
fotool  qR^  berer  anbern ;  unb  bie  @eh3ijfen§=3ret)]^eit  tft  i^nen  and) 
burd)  offentlid^e  9lcta  unb  ^acta  fo  6igentl)umlid),  bo^  fie  il^nen 
nid)t  fan  enttoenbt  merben  o!f)ne  ben  fd^nobeften  SiauB  3u  Begefien. 

©ine  fretimillige  3}ZiIi^  laffe  id^  in  ifirent  geftorigen  SSerti^e/ 
al§  Qurf)  bon  Seuten  beren  STnliegen  ge]^i3ret  cfttmtrt  unb  reprc= 
fcnttrt  3u  toerben,  oBer  bo§  Bifel^erige  BetreiBert  be§  2)^ili^  2Befen§ 
ift  ret)ber  mefir  eine  DueHe  unberfonlic^en  ^affe§,  9^et)be§  unb 
fd)dbrid)er  uncinigfeit  getoefen  toeber  ho!^  e§  unfere  llmftanbe  ge* 
Beffert  ficitte,  unb  \)Qii  sugleid^  hoA  Canb  in  gar  llngel^eure  ©d)ul= 
'b'iXK  gereumet;  ja  lt)ie  id^'  finbe  fo  ift  e§  bie  SSerl^wberung  h<:x^  eine 
ftef)enbe  Slrmee  nid^t  i^inldnglidfi  ^oX  mogen  suftanbe  geBrad^t  iner^ 
ben  fonnen.  SSobon  ein  jeber  SSerniinftiger  bon  Slnfang  leid^t  f)at 
fe^ien  fonnen,  "bo^^  too  ^tieg  gefiifiret  toerben  mufe,  fo  fan  nur 
buret)  biefe  nid)t  aBer  bnrd£)  bie  W\\\%  t'cmvA  naml^affte§  au§ge= 
fiif)ret  toerben,  unb  bo  l^iitten  aud^  alle  6intDoI)ner  $iiBfd^  gleii^ 
5Int]^ieiI  unb  ol^ue  borrourff  tragen  fonnen.  StBer  hxx^  innerlid^e 
SSerberBen  unter  un§  felBft  folte  un§  freffen.  S)a  ift  biefe§  ein  ge= 
fd)ifft  ^nftrument  haivi.  2)a  nimmt  man  einem  mit  ^ro^  unb 
Oeroalt  £25  fammt  Unf often  fo  biel  al§  man  tnill  unb  gieBtS  ©i= 
3tem  ber  bor  8  2Boc£)!en  SDienft  annel^men  toiH  unb  gieBt  il^m  nod^ 
£5  Bet)fcit§.  2So  tnerben  nun  bie  3:!]5oren  gu  finben  feljn  bie  fiir 
20  Xfjaler  auf  3  ^al^r  S)ienft  nel^men  hxa  einem  Bei^  fold^em  2>^ili^ 
BetreiBen  in  einem  Sat)r  £150  merben  fonnen?  SBenn  fold^  Sing 
bem  Sdnbe  nid)t  9Jutn  Bringet,  fo  mdfe  id)  nid^t  toaS  e§  nid^t  er« 
Irngen  fonte.  SrHcin  biefe  3:;reiBer  berlaffcn  fid^  barauf  ho^^  bie 
guten  Seutc  nid)t  toiebcr  fed)ten  toerben  unb  faf)ren  f)odE)  E)er.  SCBer 
ber  ^od^fte  mirb  fie  fd)on  miffen  3u  finben. 

2Son  ber  3^cft=9lctc  toeifetS  nun  f)ie  bie  ©rfal^rung  unb  h^x^  @e« 


Scruples  of  Conscience.  215 

O,  guard  yourself,  my  dear  Sebastian,  guard  yourself 
that  you  may  not  cause  any  sorrow  to  any  of  these  fathers 
of  the  land  and  warriors  of  the  Lord  as  I,  alas,  surmise  has 
happened  through  several  of  your  recent  acts  —  whoever 
assails  them  must  reckon  with  their  Lord.  For  I  must 
not  withhold  my  suspicion,  namely,  that  of  this  excellent 
class  of  people  more  are  to  be  found  on  the  side  of  those 
who  condemn  your  acts  than  on  the  side  of  those  who 
follow  the  drum.  I  say  more  in  order  that  I  may  not  de- 
prive the  latter  of  their  share.  I  will  merely  say  that  a 
true  representative  of  the  land  must  espouse  before  God 
and  conscience,  yea  for  the  sake  of  right  and  propriety 
the  cause  of  those  inhabitants  who  on  account  of  scruples 
of  conscience  do  not  enter  into  all  the  activities  as  honestly 
and  carefully  as  that  of  the  others,  and  freedom  of  con- 
science is  theirs  so  specifically  by  public  acts  and  agree- 
ments that  they  can  not  be  deprived  of  it  without  the  most 
iniquitous  robbery. 

To  a  voluntary  militia  I  will  concede  its  proper  value  as 
being  also  of  people  whose  solicitude  deserves  to  be  es- 
teemed and  represented.  The  management  of  the  militia 
hitherto  prevailing  has,  alas,  been  a  source  of  irreconcila- 
ble hatred,  envy  and  injurious  discord  much  more  than  a 
cause  of  improvement  of  our  condition  and  at  the  same 
time  has  cast  the  land  into  enormous  debts  and  as  I  learn 
it  has  been  the  hindrance  that  a  standing  army  could  not 
be  adequately  established.  Any  person  of  reason  could 
easily  foresee  from  the  beginning  that  where  war  must  be 
carried  on,  telling  work  can  only  be  accomplished  by  these 
but  not  through  the  militia  and  here  happily  all  citizens 
could  without  offence  have  taken  part.  But  internal  de- 
struction amongst  ourselves  was  to  devour  us  and  this  has 
become  a  fitting  instrument  thereto.     Twenty-five  pounds 


2i6  The  Pennsylvania- German  Society. 

flip  ha^  bobiircf)  QUer  Sofei^eit,  grebel,  9?quB  unb  2)?utlf)miIIen 
S:f)iir  unb  %^ox  ongeln  toeit  aufgeti^an  tft,  foldjcn  on  ben  ftillen 
itnfdf)ulbigen  geh)iffeTif)afften  Seitten  oI)ne  ©d£)eu  unb  ©d^nm  in 
biefem  unferm  2Bertf)cn  Sonbe  onSsnuben,  [a  etltd)e  ber  S^orfte^ier 
ber  ©efe^en  laben  bie  i]^re§  gletd)en  ®inne§  sum  Xtnrecf)t  finb  tool 
offentlirf)  hain  ein,  @ott  ©rbarme  c§  unb  ©teiire  bod]  ben  5re= 
bel!  ©oU  nidjt  bie  Obrigfeit  @otte§  ©tott  f)ie  33erlretten  ber  on 
ber  Xugenb  einen  SBoIgefoHeTt  unb  on  aCer  llntugenb  cinen  ©reuel 
f)Qt?  ^a  ift  fie  nic^t  sum  <&d)u^  ber  grommen  unb  gur  ©traffe 
ber  93i3fen  eingefe^t?  ®oId]e§  toirb  er  bereinft  in  oiler  ©trenge 
bon  iS^ren  ©eelen  forbern,  ber  ba  oiler  28elt  9vid)tcr  ijt  in  @cred)= 
ligfcit. 

^'eine  ?^^rcc^oIbcr  finb  toir  nic^t  melir;  giir  feine  3eugen  Iof= 
fen  fie  un§  nid)t  melir  gelten;  bon  unferm  Sonbe  foHen  toir  nid)t 
fc^reiteii  bi§  man  un§  jum  ^oloc  ober  in  bie  2BiIbe  ©ee  joget;  ©in 
jeber  mog  un§  fc^Iogen,  geiffein,  berliol^nen,  troctiren  toie  ber 
©oton  e§  il^m  eingeben  fan  fo  finben  inir  bet)  je^iger  Dbrigfeit 
feine  $iilffe  nod)  ©d^u^  onberS  oI§  bofe  fie  un§  in  fid)ere§  @e= 
fongnife  ftefft  bofelbft  gu  berfdjmod^ten.  Unb  bo§  offeS  borum 
bofe  toir  burd)'  einen  offentlic^en  6t)b,  ober  on  ©t)be§  ©tott  boS 
nid)t  berf^rec^en  ober  befi^roeren  tooHen,  n)o§  rt)ir  nid^t  toiffen  fon= 
nen  ob  tnirS  moglid)  toerben  I^olten  fonnen,  unb  olfo  of)ne  (Setoif^ 
fen§  ^efleffung  nic^t  gefd^elien  fan. 

D  iiberbende  bod)  biefe  ©ad)en  unb  merde  um  ©otteS  toilteTi 
ft)a§  il)r  gemadjt  l^obt,  unh  onberts  el^e  bie  ^anb  be§  ^od^ften  eudf) 
erf)ofd)et  unb  oI)ne  ©d^eiien  brein  fd)Iogen  i'i)ui.  Ob  id]  nun  gleic^ 
um  ha^  meinige  fame  fo  molte  id)  bod)  nidjt  um  10  beiner  foftbaren 
.©ftoten  meine  ^anb  in  biefen  ungered)ten  ^onbeln  fioben.  ^d) 
gel)e  99^orgen  nod)  ^?^ilnbcl))f)ic  um  3U  felieit  ob  biefen  Unrotl) 
bon  bort  ou§  nidjt  fan  (Sinljalt  gefc^eljen,  benn  fo  fonnen  mir  nidjt 
leben.  ^nstoifd^en  l^a^Q  ic^i  bicf)  nod)  einft  fold)  geftolt  erinnern 
ftioGen  benfeft  bit  id)  more  in  ettoo  unredfjt  bron,  fo  meife  mid)  bocf) 
aud)  in  freunbfc^offt  be§  beffern  on,  id^  merbe  e§  in  aCer  fiiebe  on* 


THE    PENNSYLVANIA-GERHA/N     SOCIETY. 


QROUr    OF    SCHWE/St^FELDER     ^^OAlOGErs ARIA/N5. 


SAMUEL    YEAKEL. 

1798-1887. 

GEORGE    ANDERS. 

1798-1890. 

MRS.    SARAH    ALTHOUSE. 

1811-1903. 


MRS      REGINA    NEWMAN, 

1798-1889. 

DAVID    HEEBNER. 

1810-1890. 

GEORGE    SCHULTZ. 

1801-1896. 


MRS.    CHRISTINA    KRAUSS. 

1787-1877 

MRS.    SUSANNA    STAHL. 

1807-1899 

SAMUEL    KRAUSS. 

1807. 


JOHN    KRAUSS. 
1813-1903. 


CHRISTOPHER   YEAKEL. 
1784-1874. 


Concerning  the  Test  Act.  217 

with  expenses  are  by  force  and  violence  taken  from  one 
and  given  to  another  who  will  accept  eight  weeks'  service 
with  an  additional  bounty  of  five  pounds.  Where  may 
the  fools  be  found  who  would  accept  twenty  dollars  on  three 
years'  service  when  by  such  military  economy  £150  may 
be  had  in  a  year?  If  such  things  will  not  bring  ruin  to 
our  country,  I  do  not  know  what  it  may  not  endure.  These 
inciters  count  on  it  that  the  good  people  of  the  land  will 
not  fight  against  them,  but  the  Highest  will  know  how  to 
punish  them. 

Concerning  the  Test  Act,  experience  and  sentiment  show 
that  by  it  door  and  gate  are  opened  wide  to  all  manner  of 
vanity,  robbery,  iniquity  and  mischief  to  carry  out  the  same 
on  quiet,  innocent,  conscientious  people  without  fear  or 
shame  in  this  our  worthy  land,  yea,  several  of  the  execu- 
tives of  the  laws  publicly  encourage  in  such  conduct  those 
who  with  them  are  equally  inclined  to  wrong-doing.  May 
God  have  mercy  and  restrain  the  iniquity.  Shall  not  the 
government  here  take  the  place  of  God  to  whom  virtue  is 
well-pleasing  and  all  vice  an  abomination.  Yea,  is  it  not 
established  to  protect  the  good  and  to  punish  the  evil?  For 
this  their  souls  will  be  called  to  account  at  the  great  day  in 
all  strictness  by  him  who  is  the  judge  of  the  whole  world  in 
righteousness. 

We  are  freeholders  no  more  ;  as  witnesses  we  are  ac- 
cepted no  more ;  we  are  not  to  step  from  our  own  land  lest 
we  be  driven  to  Howe  or  into  the  wild  sea  ;  Every  one  may 
beat,  scourge,  deride,  abuse  us  as  Satan  can  inspire  him 
and  we  shall  receive  from  the  present  government  no  help 
nor  protection  other  than  that  we  are  placed  in  secure  im- 
prisonment there  to  languish.  And  all  this  because  we 
will  not  by  public  oath  or  its  substitute  promise  or  vow  that 
which  we  do  not  know  whether  we  are  able  to  fulfill  and 


2l8 


The  Pennsylvania-German  Society. 


nefime'n,  ber  irf)  nod)  berl^arre,  bein  SieBe  fc^ulbiger  ^^^eunb  unb 
tDoImunfdjer.    ^crcforb  b.  12.  5fug.  1777. 

^.  ©.  SSenn  bit  gerne  h)tl[t  fo  fenbe  mir  mit  bem  VleBer^ 
bringer  biefe^  ^nlJtb  9!Jfef(^ter  meinc  glDei  Sud)Ietn  toieber  bie  icf) 
bir  einiTiQl  SeF)iien§  SBeife  Brod^te;  ba  toir  notft  frct)e  Seute  h)a= 
ren;  STBer  nod)  ben  jefeigen  9?ec^ten  borff  id)  bir  fie  nid)t  it)ieber» 
forbern.     ©et)  Don  mir  famt  beinem  SBeibe  fier^Iidi  gegriifjet 


Concerning  the   Test  Act.  iic^ 

hence  can  not  be  done  without  pollution  of  conscience. 
O,  consider  these  things  and  for  God's  sake  reflect  what 
you  have  done  and  change  it  before  the  hand  of  the  Highest 
overtakes  you  and  fearlessly  punishes  you.  Were  I  even 
to  lose  my  own,  I  would  not  for  ten  such  rich  estates  as 
yours  be  partaker  in  these  unrighteous  actions.  To-mor- 
row I  shall  go  to  Philadelphia  to  see  whether  from  that 
quarter  restraint  of  this  iniquity  may  be  had  for  thus  we 
can  not  live.  In  the  meantime  I  wished  in  this  way  to  call 
your  attention  to  these  things.  If  you  think  I  have  erred 
in  any  respect  in  friendliness  show  me  what  is  better  and 
I  shall  accept  it  in  love. 
I  remain 

your  friend  and  well  wisher 

Chr.  Schultz. 
Hereford,  Aug.  12,  1777. 

P.  S.  If  it  be  agreeable  to  you,  send  with  the  messenger 
who  delivers  this,  David  Meschter,  my  two  books  again 
which  I  brought  you  at  one  time  by  way  of  a  loan  when 
we  were  still  free  people,  but  according  to  present  rights  I 
may  not  ask  them  again  of  you.  Hearty  greetings  to  you 
and  your  wife.    Vale. 


25on  bcr  33efrn.3ung,  fo  bie  .<?>«"i3=2Sater  notl^ig  ac^ten,  nn  bte- 
jenige  gu  t^itn,  fo  bie  Slrouungen  itnter  iin§  begel^ren  geleiftet  gu 
rjaben. 

2)er  ^crr  loffe  e§  il^m  toofirgefallen,  unb  311  feiner  e^r  gerei* 

D^odibem  iinfcre  33orfQr)ren  unb  ©Itcrn,  fo  ©d)lDenc!feIber  ge= 
natmt  in  2^eutfd)Innb,  firf)  mit  feiner  ^ortfiet)  in  ber  Se^re  Tjaben 
fiinnen  bergleic^en  nocf)  bereinigen,  unb  olfo  tuegen  berfelbigen 
bieles  ItngemadE)  erieiben  itnb  erbulben  miiffcn,  bie  Qei)t  and)  nid^t 
offentlid)  t^fi^Gen  biirfften,  unb  i^nen  enblid)  gar  fein  3ufIud)t=Drt 
mefir  gugelaffen  murbe.  ©o  entfc^Ioffen  fie  fid),  Ijicrein  nad] 
^ennfQlbanien  (auf  S^odirid^t  ber  @etoiffen§=Srei)f)eit  QlII)icr)  gu 
ge()en,  toeldjeS  fie  3lnno  1734  get^an.  Unb  toeilen  bie  Sel^re  baju 
fie  fid),  unb  and}  mir  un§  nod),  Befennen,  boS  ein^ige  $auBt=©tude 
tft,  tuas  un§  bon  anbem  SSoIdern  unterfd)eibet,  unb  olfo  un§  f)ie= 
mit  3U  einem  Befonbern  (ober  bon  onbern  abgefc^iebenem)  35oIde 
mad)t:  ©o  gebiif^retS  un§  ha^  toir  $aufe=9Sdter,  je^^unb  no(^  (toie 
bomaliB  unfere  3Sorfaf)ren)  un§  Bet)  alien  angelegentlic^en  S5orfaI= 
len  (alfo  and)  Bet)m  SSorfoII  bet  S^rouung)  bie  Sef)r  niemaf)Ig  foI= 
ten  an§>  unferm  ^QuBt=®emer(fe  fommen  loffen.  1.  Urn  biefer 
Bifel)er  nod)  fo  oblen  unb  gur  Se]^r=UeBung  bienenben  @etoiffen§=" 
5ret)f)dt  megen,  nad^  h)eld)er  irir  aud)  Bered^tigt  finb,^  bie  ef)e-33oII« 
3iel)ung  unter  un§  felBft  3U  tl)un.  2.  Um  @otte§  @f)re  toillen,  bie 
burd)  reine  Sel^r  foU  geforbert  merben.  3.  Um  unferer  ©rBou* 
ung.  4.  Um  biefelBe  Bet)  unfern  9'Jad)!ommen  Qufred)t  gu  erfiol' 
ten,  als  quc^  i!)nen  3u  einem  guten  @fem:peL  Um  5  ouc^  um  @ot= 
te§  tocgen,  ha  er  tool  ein  foId)e§  tion  un§  ertoarten  mag,  ba^  toir 
bie  Sef)re  gemeinfdjofftl.  qI§  oud)  bafjeim  fiir  fid)  fleiffig  iibten  unb 
bomit  bor  jebermanniglid)  Bemeifen,  ha"^  e§  un§  Qud^  toaB  fonber- 

(  220  ) 


APPENDIX   B. 
Marriage  Contract,  October  1779.     (See  page  73.) 

(Translation).  Account  and  statement  of  the  examina- 
tion which  the  housefathers  regard  necessary  to  be  held  of 
those  who  make  request  to  have  the  marriage  ceremony 
performed  among  us. 

May  it  be  well-pleasing  to  the  Lord  and  redound  to  his 
honor. 

Our  forefathers  and  parents  in  Germany  called  Schwenk- 
felders  could  reconcile  and  unite  themselves  in  doctrine 
with  no  party  and  in  consequence  had  with  respect  to  the 
same  to  endure  and  suffer  much  inconvenience,  could  not 
publicly  foster  their  doctrines  and  finally  were  even  not 
allowed  a  place  of  refuge.  They,  therefore,  resolved  (on 
hearing  of  freedom  of  conscience  here)  to  migrate  to 
Pennsylvania  which  they  did  in  the  year  1734.  And  since 
the  doctrine  which  they  confessed  as  we  yet  do  is  the  only 
principal  article  which  differentiates  us  from  other  people 
and  thus  makes  us  a  people,  distinct  or  separate  from 
others,  it  is  becoming  that  we  housefathers  even  now  yet 
(as  our  forefathers  then)  should  in  all  important  events  (as 
also  in  the  case  of  marriage)  permit  doctrine  at  no  time  to 
cease  to  be  our  distinguishing  mark. 

1.  On  account  of  the  liberty  of  conscience  hitherto  pre- 
vailing, so  precious  and  serviceable  to  the  culture  of  doc- 
trine, according  to  which  we  are  also  permitted  to  perform 
the  marriage  ceremony  among  ourselves. 

2.  On  account  of  the  glory  of  God  which  is  to  be  ad- 
vanced by  pure  doctrine. 

3.  On  account  of  our  own  edification. 

(  221 ) 


222  The  Pennsylvania- German  Society. 

bares  imb  angelegene^  fet),  betenttoegen  bon  anbern  ^Koldern  un= 
terfc^ieben  311  fcrjn.  Safier  mart  fid)  Uetpflirfitet  BefurtbeTi,  imb 
norf)  befinbet,  bieienigen  fo  bie  framing  Bet)  un§  begefirt  geleiftet 
5u  f)Q&en,  itnb  fernerl)in  bege^jren  mi3d)ten,  [ie  nid)t  fo  |3latt,  ab3u= 
toeifen,  urn  fie  aud)  ()iemit  nid)t  bon  ber  SeT)re  meg  gu  lenfen,  nod^ 
un§  felbft  fdjamlic^  bor  @ott  imb  2)?enfd)en  baraufteHen,  qI»  nid)t 
ac^tertbe  ouf  Sef)re  iinb  sufammen  bieneu  bal)er  r)Qben  iDtr  e§  fUr 
notbig  gead)tet,  baf3  mir  fie  in  ^iirtse,  auf  folgenbe  jtoet)  gragen 
erfud)ten  nnb  anf^  ©emerde  ber  Sefir  leitetett,  nnb  gtoar  t)orne{)m= 
lid)  ben  Srdutigom  tuie  folgt.  1.  £)b  er  fid)  ouc^  mol  bebad)t,  ge- 
^riifft  nnb  unterfnd)ct  babe,  bofs  c§  if)m  nm  @otte§  Gbre  intb  ber 
eigeneit  §et)I§  megen  nm  nnfete  Sebre  i\\  tbnn  fet)  (bie  ibni  bod) 
nnn  nidbt  unbefonnt  fet)n  merbe)  nnb  '^q5^  er  foldbe  Qn§  eigenem 
unterfnd)cn  nnb  $8egriffe  fitr  rid)tig  bnlte,  nnb  folglid)  au§  fret)em 
SBiKen,  nnb  nngestonngenem  (Semittbe  fid)  an  ford)e  anfd)Iief3en 
nnb  snftimmen  fbnne,  fo  "i^xx"^  c^  fief)/  f oi^  fid)  fefbft  nnb  bie  ©einen 
berfelben  nadj  @otte§  berle^en  in§  fiinfftige  trenlid)  balten  unb 
biefelbe  mit  fammt  ben  anbern  tootle  I)elffen  ^flegcn  nnb  unter= 
ftii^cn?  Itnb  ob  feine  berlobte  ond)  eigentlid)  eineg  fold)en  SBiEe-nS 
feo? 

Itnb  roeil  nad)  ben  Sanbe§=@efeten,  einc  borgefejste  'i^erfon, 
bie  2:rdnnngen  berridbten  mufe,  unb  toir  aber  feine  boben;  Ob  er  2 
fid)  and^  jn  bem  entfd)Iieffen  fbnte,  toenn  funfftig  bin,  ein  nnb  anbe- 
rer,  ondb-  in  bergleicben  Stngelegenbeiten  toie  er  gegentodrtig,  inbd)te 
fommen  nnb  ein  fold)e§  unter  nn§  nnb  bon  nn§,  begebrte  ibm  ge= 
meinfd)afftlid)  mit  ben  anbern  tooHe  fud)en  bnrd)  sn  b^Iffen,  nnb 
einen  ^aufe=2Sater  lielffen  anftimmen,  bem  e§  iibergeben  toiirbe, 
bie  S^rauung  gu  ik)VCS\R 

SBenn  benn  einfdltig  nnb  trenlic^  anf  bicfe  stoet)  gragen  ge« 
toilliget  nnb  sngeftimmet  toorben,  fo  btit  man§  fiir  biHig  geod)tet, 
einem  foId£)en  gu  toillfabren,  babet)  man  \i<^^^  befte  gcboffet,  inbem 
man  niemanben  in§  ^erl^e  febcn  fan.  ^icranf  \)oX  man  nod)  fitr 
niilslid)  gebalten  ibnen  anjuratben  (toie  and)  bon  5tlter§  '\)tx.  bet)m 


Marriage  Contract.  223 

4.  To  maintain  the  same  among  our  posterity  and  to 
give  them  a  good  example. 

5.  For  God's  sake  also  who  may  indeed  expect  of  us 
that  we  shall  both  jointly  and  also  privately  at  home  culti- 
vate the  same  and  thus  show  before  every  one  that  it  is  to 
us  a  serious  and  notable  matter  to  be  in  this  regard  a 
people  separate  from  others. 

Wherefore,  we  have  found  ourselves  obligated  both  in 
the  past  and  the  present  with  regard  to  those  who  desire  to 
have  the  marriage  ceremony  performed  among  us,  and  in 
the  future  may  desire,  not  to  turn  these  so  flatly  aside  and 
thus  direct  them  away  from  the  doctrine  and  also  show 
ourselves  to  our  shame  before  God  and  man  as  not  regard- 
ing our  doctrine  and  not  working  together. 

We  have,  therefore,  regarded  it  necessary  by  the  fol- 
lowing two  questions  to  appeal  to  them  and  in  particular 
to  the  groom  and  direct  their  attention  to  doctrine  as  a  dis- 
tinguishing mark.  i.  Whether  he  had  carefully  reflected, 
weighed  and  examined  himself  that  he  earnestly  took  to 
heart  the  glory  of  God,  his  own  salvation  and  our  own  doc- 
trine (that  would  indeed  not  be  unknown  to  him)  and  that 
as  a  result  of  his  own  investigation  and  understanding  he 
regards  the  same  as  correct  and  hence  of  his  free  will  and 
unconstrained  mind  can  attach  himself  and  give  assent  to 
the  same  so  that  he  for  himself  and  his  own  by  God's  grace 
will  in  the  future  help  to  cultivate  and  support  the  same? 
And  whether  his  betrothed  for  herself  also  gives  assent  to 
the  same? 

And  since  by  the  laws  of  the  country  an  appointed  per- 
son must  perform  the  ceremony  and  we  have  none.  2.  If 
in  the  future  some  one  or  other  under  circumstances  simi- 
lar to  his  own  should  come  and  request  the  same  of  and  by 
us  whether  he  could  assent  to  this,  that  he  would  in  com- 


224 


The  Pennsylvania- German  Society. 


©f)riften=2SoMe  gefd)er)eTi)  bofe  Me  Srout'Seute,  bon  bem  ber  fie 
trauen  folte,  fid^  borljero  nod)  t)on  i^m  nu§  ©l)rtftli(^er  Sefir  lijjen 
Befragen  imb  imterriditen.  3"  h)el(^em,  [o  Btfe!)€r  nad)  oBigem 
^nnlialt  eingetotlliget  avtd^i  r)ier5u,  role  Billid),  oHe  berftanben 
l^nBen.  SSeld^e  oBet  Bifefier  ber  ^flegung  b'er  Se^r  Tiid)t  Bet)ge' 
tr)o5nt,  itnb  gleiditool  foldien  Sien[t  su  leiftcn  bon  un§  Begel^ret, 
bo  f)QBen  fid)  bie  $aufe=3Sater,  ben  SBrautigom  tt)Q§  mel^r  gu  Befra» 
gen  bert)flic^tet  Befnnben  um  3U  erfal^ren  trie  e§  um  feme  Stnge* 
legenl^eit  3ur  Se^ir  fteBet.  SBer  fid)  nun  aBer  Bet)  feiner  Beborfte* 
I)enben  ^rauung  iw  oBiger  93efragung  nid)t  berfte^ien  fan,  ho,  fon* 
nen  tt)ir  itn§  and)  nod)  SQnbe§=@efe^en  nnb  (£r)nftli(^er  SSerfoffung 
nid)t  Befugt  oditen  un§  mit  if)m  3U  fold^em  tric^tigen  offentIid)en 
§anbel  einsulaffen. 

(^oId)e§  Beseugen  bie  ^Qn^=3}ater  foluol  alte  alS  junge,  mit 
if)rer  eigenen  §Qnb. 


©firifto^fl  ©d)ur^. 
6f)riftop{)  Sacfel. 
©eorge  SBigner. 
Sofian  Sadel. 
2ReId)ior  ©d^ul^. 
g^riftop^  ^TiBer. 
e^rifto|3^  .<0offmQn. 
2)?eId)ior  SlriBel,  jun. 
5Dabib  ^xieBel. 
§tBra!^am  S)refd)er. 
9rBrQf)(im  Sadel. 
SfBrol^ain  SltteBel. 
$Qn^  (Sf)riftobr)  ^liBner. 
©eorge  ^rieBel. 
©eorge  9lnber§, 
©eorge  $ei)bri(^. 
(Seorge  ^rieBel. 
gfiriftopl)  ar?efd)tcr. 
3WeI(^ior  ^adel. 
2[6ra!)cim  ©c^ul^. 
a3al^er  SkouS. 


©eorg  ^adel. 
©firiftopl^er  ®d)ul^,  jun. 
(£Q§|?er  ^adel. 
^acoB  Scidel. 
@regorin§  ©d)«I^. 
9Jfattf)o§  ©erl^arbl. 
^eremiaS  ^adel. 
STnbreag  ©c^nl^. 
©eorge  S)refd^er. 
S>abib  ©d)ul^. 
SJal^er  ©d^nl^. 
®eorge  ©(^nl^. 
2lnbreQ§  ^teBel. 
2tBraf)Qm  ^tiBel. 
^eremiag  ^ieBel. 
efiriftopf)  Sadel  ^iiffer. 
2)?eId)ior  (©d)uBert  mefer. 
SfBrofiam  $eirid). 
Crfiriftop^  ^eifd)ter. 
Sabib  ©d)ul^. 


Marriage  Contract.  225 

mon  with  the  others  befriend  such  a  one  and  help  to  select 
a  housefather  to  whom  the  performance  of  the  marriage 
ceremony  might  be  entrusted. 

These  two  questions  having  been  sincerely  and  honestly 
agreed  and  assented  to,  it  was  deemed  in  place  to  accede 
to  the  request  of  such  a  one  in  hope  for  the  best  since  no 
one  can  see  into  the  heart.  Hereupon  it  was  also  consid- 
ered salutary  to  advice  them  (as  was  the  custom  among 
Christian  people  in  earlier  times)  that  those  engaged  to  be 
married  should  beforehand  be  catechized  and  instructed  by 
the  one  who  was  to  marry  them.  To  the  foregoing  hith 
erto  approved  as  given  above  all  have  appropriately  given 
assent.  In  case  of  those  who  did  not  hitherto  support  our 
doctrines  and  who  yet  made  request  to  have  such  service 
rendered  by  us,  the  housefathers  found  themselves  under 
obligation  to  question  the  groom  somewhat  more  fully  to 
determine  how  much  he  was  concerned  about  our  doc- 
trine. If  anyone  can,  however,  not  consent  to  the  above 
questions  in  the  matter  of  his  approaching  marriage  we  can 
not  consider  ourselves  authorized  by  the  laws  of  the  Land 
and  Christian  organization  to  enter  upon  such  an  important 
public  act  with  him. 

The  housefathers  both  old  and  young  bear  testimony  to 
the  above  in  their  own  handwriting. 


IS 


INDEX. 


A  CT,  the  Test,  154-156,  207-219. 
^    Allegiance  to  Penn'a,  Pledge 

of,  35,  140. 
Althouse,  Daniel,  48. 
Altona,  31,  32. 
Amsterdam,  25,  32. 
Anders,  Abraham,  49. 
Anders,  EUwood,  49. 
Anders,  George  (i),  128. 
Anders,   George    (2),  48,   128,   129, 

158,  224. 
Andrew,  Saint,  the  ship,  32,  33,  103. 
Anhalt-Cothen,  30. 
Anspach,  F.  R.,  200. 
Antes,  Henry,  43,  109,  no,  112,  114. 
Armenruh,  20. 
Augsburg,  5. 

Augsburg  Confession,  17. 
Austerity,  31,  56. 
Atlantic  Ocean,  33,  34. 

BAPTISM,  II,  28,  118. 
Baus,  Christopher,  103,  105. 
Bechtel,  John,  109. 
Becker,  Jost,  109. 
Benezet,  Anthony,  190. 
Benezet,  John,  44. 
Benzel,  George,  109. 
Berthelsdorf,  26-28,  31,  103. 
Bertolet,  John,  109. 
Beyer,  Abraham,  43,  172. 
Beyer,  Andrew,  49,  172. 
Bibighaus,  173. 
Bible,  9. 

Bibliography,  183-202. 
Boehme,  Jacob,  57,  185. 
Bohler,  Peter,  in. 
Bonisch,   George,  40,   103-106,  112. 
Bohemia,  2,  17. 
Books,  (see  Literature). 
Bossens,  William,  109. 
Brandenburg,  29. 
Brethren  of  the  Skippack,  Associa- 

ated,  42,  57,  109,  no,  112. 
Brey,  Abraham,  47. 

(227) 


Bryan,  George,  157. 
Bugenhagen,  3. 

Business,  Church,  Method  of  con- 
ducting, 94. 
Byuschanse  Brothers,  32,  33. 

pALVERT,  George,  37. 
^     Carl  of  Miinsterberg,  2. 
Cassel,  Abraham  H.,  158. 
Cassel,  David  M.,  48. 
Catechism,   (see  Religious  Instruc- 
tion). 
Catholic  (see  Jesuit  Mission),  i,  21, 

23- 

Charity  Fund,  33,  88,  loi,  171. 

Charles  VI.,  21,  23,  24,  38. 

Charlotte,   Queen  of  England,  190. 

Children,  Instruction  of,  (see  Educa- 
tion). 

Children,  Consecration  of,  161. 

Christian  Endeavor  Societies,  102. 

Church,  10,  81. 

Citizens,  Rights  and  Duties  of,  139, 
172. 

Clothing,  Regulations  concerning, 

95,  172. 
Community,  Efforts  to  establish  a 

Schwenkfelder,  30,  40. 
Conestoga,  105,  107. 
Cologne,  I. 

Conferences,  General,  94,  95. 
Conference  of  1762,  64. 
Constitution  of  1782. 

Adoption  of,  71-79. 

Life  under,  80-102. 

Editions  of,  80. 
Conversion,  3,  8,  lo. 
Cranz,  104. 
Crautwald,  4. 
Cressman,  Frederick,  45. 

DAVIS,  John,  129 
DeBenneville,  52. 
Depreciation  of  Money,  131. 
Deputies  to  Vienna,  82-84. 


228 


Index. 


Derstine,  Henry,  48. 

Diaconate,  The,  86,  87. 

Dippel,  130. 

Discipline,  92. 

Doctrine,   7,   72,    113,  119,  130,   183, 

185,  221. 
Doerbaum,  John,  129. 
Dorn,  Melchoir,  25. 
Dotterer,  Henry  S.,  192. 
Dresden,  29,  31. 
Dresher,  Abraham,  222. 
Dresher,  Christopher,  45,  48,  144. 
Dresher  George  (i),  38,  42. 
Dresher,  George  (2),  222. 
Dunkers,  150. 

PCKSTEIN,  John,  106,  no,  113. 

^     Edelman,  130. 

Education,  Religious,  18,  58,  6r,  64, 
66,  73.  76,  81,  85,  91,  95,  98,  102, 
113,  121,  123,  134,  137,  162-167, 
171-179,  187,  188. 

Education,  Secular,  120-138,  162. 

Elbe  River,  32. 

Eschenbach,  in. 

Eucharist,  (see  Lord's  Supper). 

Evans,  Cadwallader,  41. 

PAITH,  10. 

^      Falckner   Swamp,   41,  42,   107, 

114,  143,  156. 
Farm  Life,  174-176. 
Fauth,  John  Jacob,  42. 
Ferdinand,  King,  4. 
Fetterman,  Leon.  47. 
Flinn,  Edmund,  88. 
Fogelsville,  42. 
Forbearance,  13. 
Forgiveness,  9. 
Formula  of  Government,  80. 
Frankfurt,  I. 
Frederick  Augustus  I,  26. 
Frederick  Augustus  II,  26. 
Frederick  the  Great,  25,  53. 
Frederick  township,  109. 
Frell,  George,  194. 
Freed,  William,  49. 
Frey,  Andreas,  109. 
Frey,  Henry,  109. 
Frey,  William,  109. 
Fresenius,  31,  108. 
Friedersdorf,  25. 
Friedrich  II.,  2-4. 


Friendly  Association,  144-148. 
Friends,  36,  150,  (see  Friendly  Asso- 
ciation. Pemberton). 
Funeral  Customs,  180-182. 


p  EDACHTNISS-TAG    (see    Me- 
^     morial  Day). 
Georgia,  30,  104,  106,  114. 
Gerhard,  John,  48. 
Gerhard,  Matthias,  222. 
Germantown,  109. 
Glatz,  17. 

Gmelen,  Matthias,  109. 
Gorlitz,  25,  26,  199. 
Goshenhoppen,  40,  62,  141. 
Graeme,  Thomas,  140. 
Gwynedd,  56. 

UAAG,  Andrew,  128. 
^^     Haagen,  Jacob,  190. 
Haarlem,  32,  33. 
Hanisch,  29. 
Halteman,  John,  48. 
Hamburg,  29,  31. 
Hamilton  Tract,  45. 
Hanover,  Upper,  56. 
Harpersdorf  20,  186,  192. 
Hartranft,  Chester  D.,  16,  47,  202. 
Hartranft,  Tobias,  38,  204. 
Hausvater,  62,  63,  66,  94. 
Heckler,  Israel,  48. 
Heebner,  Balzer,  173. 
Heebner,  Christopher,  45,  4c. 
Heebner,  David,  42,  45,  49,  71. 
Heebner,  George,  43,  45,  48,  114, 

148, 
Heebner,  Hans,  43. 
Heebner,  Hans  Christopher,  49,  68, 

128,  222. 
Heebner,  H.  H.,  49. 
Heebner,  Jacob,  40. 
Heebner,  Dr.  Melchior,  39,  42,  43, 

57- 
Heebner,  Wayne,  49. 
Heintze  Correspondence,  45,  68,  184, 

191. 
Hereford,  143. 
Herrnhut,  25,  26. 
Heydrick,   Abraham,  48,    158,   200, 

224. 
Heydrick,  Balzer,  42,  158. 
Heydrick,  Casper,  41. 


Index. 


229 


Heydrick,    Hon.     Christopher,    23 

200. 
Heydrick,  George,  41,  48,  128,  158, 

224. 
Heydrick,  Mrs.  George,  162. 
Hiestand,  Nathaniel,  47. 
Hiller,  Michael,  18,  178. 
Hockenau,  20. 
Hofel,  20. 
Hoffman,  Balzer,  20,  22,  23,  24,  31, 

38,   40,   41,  56,  58,  62,  63,   68,   69. 

71,  Ii6,  120,  165,  178,  188,  195,  196. 
Hoffman,  Christopher  (i),  22. 
Hoffman,   Christopher    (2),   48,  68, 

128,  131,  172,  186,  193,  198,  222. 
Hoffman,  George,  41. 
Hoffman,  Ursula,  38. 
Hoffrichter,  Balzer,  22. 
Hohburg,  178,  194. 
Holland,  17. 
Holstein,  Henry,  109. 
Homelife,  170. 
Hosensack    Academy,   86,   134-136, 

162,  165,  171. 
Huss,  I. 
Hymn-book  Published,  68. 

INCORPORATION,  87. 
■'•     Indian  Troubles,  140-148. 
Isenberg,  29. 
Italy,  17. 

JACOB  V.  SALZA,  2. 
J     Jenkins,  H.  M.,  201. 
Jesuit  Mission,  21-24,  28. 
Jesus  Christ,  8,  9. 
John,  Martin,  Jr.,  18. 
Johnson,  E.  E.  S.,  85. 
Jonas,  Justus,  3. 

IZADELBACH,  200, 

■^     Kelpius,  191. 

Kinsey,  John,  140. 

Kooken,  John,  109. 

Krauss,  Balzer(  i ).  42,  45,  47,  58,  131. 

Krauss,  Balzer  (2),  224. 

Krauss,  Christopher,  43,  48,  68,  128, 

131.  145- 
Krauss,  John,  135,  199. 
Krauss,  Levi,  42,  47. 
Kriebel,  Abraham  (i),  48,  128,  158, 

222. 
Kriebel,  Abraham  (2),  222. 


Kriebel,  Abraham  H.,  49. 

Kriebel,  Abraham  K.,  48. 

Kriebel,  Allen  K.,  48. 

Kriebel,  Andrew,  222. 

Kriebel,  Casper,    41,    68,    115,    128, 

129,  144,  145,  196. 
Kriebel,  Christopher  f  i),  38,  41. 
Kriebel,  Christopher  (2),  48,  64,  99, 

100,   128,   163,   164,   180,   193,   195, 

196,  222. 
Kriebel,  David,  49,  222. 
Kriebel,  George  (i),  45,  47,  68,  100, 

128,   129,   131,   136,   147,   155,   156, 

159,  162,  209,  224. 
Kriebel,  George  (2),  222. 
Kriebel,  Isaac,  48. 
Kriebel,  Jeremiah,  224. 
Kriebel,   Melchior   (i),  41,   49,   71, 

105,  107,  128. 
Kriebel,  Melchior  (2),  222. 
Kriebel,  O.  S.,  85,  138. 
Kriebel,  Reuben,  200. 

T  ADIES'  Aid  Societies,  102. 

■'-'    Landis,  Elias,  48. 

Langneundorf,  20. 

Laubgrund,  20. 

Lauterseifen,  20. 

Leade,  Jane,  39,  57,  185. 

Leidich,  John  Philip,  45. 

Levan,  Sebastian,  155,  207. 

Lewis,  Peter,  48. 

Liberty,  11,  14,  23,  30,  31,  55,  77, 
113,  117,  148,  152,  209. 

Liegnitz,  i,  3,  4. 

Life,  Private,  20,  56,  61,  93,  97,  108, 
168-182. 

Literary  Fund,  90. 

Literature  (see  Board  of  Publica- 
tion), 15,  19,  23,  29,  31,  34,37,47. 
56,  65,  67,  68,  70,  73,  80,  84,  89, 
90,  95.  97,  102,  133,  142,  147,  164- 
166,  183-202. 

Lukens,  Joseph,  144. 

Lukewarmness,  20,  60,  62,  63,  64, 
72,  81. 

Lusatia,  Upper,  260. 

Luther,  3,  4. 

Lutherans,  4,  22. 

]U"ACK,John,  144. 

■'■'■'■     Mackinet,  Blasius,  109. 

Macungie,  42,  56,  62,  140. 


230 


Index. 


Magdeburg,  31,  32. 

Marckel,  Barbara,  24. 

Marriage,   62,   69,    70,   91,    167-169, 

189,  219-224. 
Matthews,  Edward,  83. 
Mechling,  Samuel,  45. 
Meetinghouses,  82. 
Membership,  80-82,  94. 
Memorial  Day,   36,  62,   63,   69,   98, 

148,  156. 
Mennonites,  24,  29,  32. 
Mentzel,  George,  24. 
Merkel,  George,  109. 
Meschter,  Christopher  (i),  38,  224. 
Meschter,  Christopher  (2),  224. 
Meschter,   David,   42,    43,   47,    146, 

219. 
Meschter,  Gregorius,  47. 
Meschter,  Melchior,  49. 
Methacton,  109. 
Metz,  Sam,  49. 
Migration,  21,  29,  34,  39. 
Milan,  Johannes,  21. 
Ministry,  84-86,  88,  loi. 
Missions,  89,  102. 
Molter,  III. 
Moravia,  17. 
Moravians,  (see  Spangenberg,  Zin- 

zendorf,  Nitschman,  Georgia),  59. 
Morris,  Robert  Hunter,  14S. 
Moyer,  Abraham,  51. 
Muhlenberg,  55,  57,  191. 

MAMES  applied  to   Schwenkfeld, 

Neander,  21. 

Neisser,  George,  106,  109. 

Newman,  Christopher,  45,  128,  168. 

Newman,  Rosina,  168. 

Newman,  David,  49,  128. 

Newmooners,  107. 

Nitschke,  47. 

Nitschman,  Anna,  iii. 

Nitschman,    Bishop,    104,   105,  no, 

113. 
Non-militants,    150,    152,    158,    160, 

207-219. 
Nuremberg,  5. 
Nuremberg  Truce  of,  17. 

nCCUPATIONS,  20,  27,  52,  174- 
^     CEcolampadius,  4. 
Oglethorpe,  104. 


Oley,  107,  109,  114. 
Organization,  14,  20,  55-70,  71,  Si. 
Orwig,  W.  W.,  191. 

pAUPANHOAL,  147. 

•'-      Pemberton,  Israel,  147,  190. 

Penn,  William,  37. 

Penn,  Thomas,  104. 

Pennypacker,  Hon.  S.  W.,  36,  185, 

188. 
Perkasie  Manor,  41. 
Perkiomen  Seminary,  loi,  138. 
Persecution  (see  Jesuit  Mission,  Zin- 

zendorf),  3,  5,  18. 
Philadelphia,  36. 
Pioneer  life,  50-54. 
Pima,  31. 
Plymouth,  32. 
Podiebrad,  King,  2. 
Poland,  King  of,  29. 
Poor,  (see  Charity  Fund). 
Pott,  William,  109. 
Prayer  for  children,  82. 
Proselytes,  82. 
Prussia,  King  of,  29. 
Publication,  Board  of,  89. 

DAUCH,  III. 

•'^^     Redemptioners,  30,  37,  114,  172. 
Reeser,  William,  151. 
Reformation  by  the  Middle  Way,  4, 

6. 
Reformation  in  Silesia,  3-5. 
Regent,  Carolus  Xavier,  21. 
Reichel,  31,   105,  108,  109,  iii,  115. 
Reinwald,  Christopher,  42,  48. 

Revolution,  The  American,  148-159, 

207-219. 
Ritter,  Franz,  109. 
Roberts,  John,  45. 
Robinson,  John,  37. 
Rotterdam,  32. 
Rupp,  I.  D.,  200. 

C  ACRAMENTS,  99. 

^     Salford,  56. 

Salvation,  7-9. 

Sauer,  Christopher,  68,  112,  194. 

SchaefiFer,  Pastor,  27. 

Schell,  Michael,  45. 

Schmidt,  Jost,  109. 

Schraoyer,  Solomon,  47. 


Index. 


231 


Schneider,  Benjamin,  173. 

Schneider,  Father,  141. 

Schneider,  Friedrich,  47,  184,  201. 

Schneider,  Pastor,  21. 

Schools,  (see  Education). 

Schubert,  Christopher,  38,  49. 

Schubert,  David,  48,  49. 

Schubert,  Melchoir,  224. 

Schultz,  Abraham  Ti),  48. 

Schultz,  Abraham  (2),  172. 

Schultz,  Abraham  (3),  224. 

Schultz,  Andrew,  222. 

Schultz,  Balzer,  131,  171,  195,  222. 

Schultz,  Benjamin,  198. 

Schultz,  Christopher  (i),  29,  31,  34, 
36,  39,  42,  44,  47,  65,  66,  68,  69,  72, 
73,  77,  81,  99,  115,  120,  128,  129, 
130,  131,  141,  144.  145.  146,  148, 
149.  151,  153.  155,  168,  172,  183, 
189,  194-199,  207-219,  222. 

Schultz,  Christopher  (2),  222. 

Schultz,  Christopher,  Jr.,  86. 

Schultz,  Christopher  K.,  172. 

Schultz,  David  (i),  39,  44,  47,  128, 
144,  145.  172,  174,  192. 

Schultz,  David  (2),  222. 

Schultz,  David  (3),  224. 

Schultz,  Murder  of  Mrs.  David,  44. 

Schultz,  E.  H.,  48. 

Schultz,  George  (i),  40,  42,  43, 183. 

Schultz,  George  (2),  34,  39,  40. 

Schultz,  George  (s),  42,  43.  44i  68, 
128,  145. 

Schultz,  George  (4),  128,  145,  222. 

Schultz,  Gregorius,  42,  45,  48,  68, 
128,  140. 

Schultz,  Gregory,  222. 

Schultz,  Horatio  K.,  44,  47. 

Schultz,  Isaac,  no,  135,  140,  143, 
161,  170.  173,  199. 

Schultz,  Jeremiah  K.,  44,  47. 

Schultz,  John,  85,  100,  135,  199. 

Schultz,  Joshua,  95,  185,  199,  200. 

Schultz,  Melchior  (i),  23. 

Schultz,  Melchior  (2),  32,45,  48. 

Schultz,  Melchior  (3),  42,  43,  44, 
47,  68,  128,  129,  145,  146,  222. 

Schultz,  Nathan,  47. 

Schultz,  Susanna,  38. 

Schwedler,  25. 

Schwenkfeld,  1-16,  18. 

Schwenkf  elders, 

a  Term  of  Reproach,  14. 


Schwenkfelders, 

Homes  of  Early,  17. 

Number  of,  at  death  of  Schwenk- 
feld, 20. 

Persecuted,   17,  18. 

Form  of  Worship,  18. 

At  Opening  of  i8th  Century,  20. 

Last  Professing  in  Silesia,  25, 

Under  Jesuit  Mission,  21-25. 

In  Saxony,  26-31. 

Migration  to  Pennsylvania,  31-34. 

Founding  Homes  in  Pennsyl- 
vania, 35-54. 

Declare  allegiance,  35. 

Picture  of  "  Landing  "  suggested, 

37- 

a  View  of  the  Immigrants,  37-39. 

Mentioned  by  Tourist  V.  Beek, 
40.  _ 

Religious  condition,  1734,  55,  60. 

Not  Organized  Prior  to  1782,  71. 

Relation  to  Doctrines  of  Schwenk- 
feld, 80. 

and  Zinzendorf,  103-119. 

Peaceful,  114. 

Immigrants,  Intelligent,  120. 

and  Education,  120-139. 

as  Citizens,  139-160. 

Non -militants,  152,  153,  156,  158, 
160, 207-219. 

Opinion  on.  Expressed,  157. 

and  Public  Office,  172. 

Private  Life  of,  161-182. 

Descendants    of,   scattered,    203, 
204. 
Secret  Societies,  90. 
Seibert,  Henry  R.,  48. 
Seiler,  Hans  Ulrich,  48,  172. 
Seipt,  Casper,  49,  68,  128. 
Seipt,  David,  40,  42,  44,  58,  196. 
Separation  of  Church  and  State,  11. 
Shuler,  Rufus,  48. 
Silesia,  4,  17. 
Sin,  9. 

Skippack,  109. 
Smalcald,  War  of,  5. 
Smissen,  van  der,  32. 
Snyder,  Henry,  49,  128,  168. 
Snyder,  Henry  D.,  48. 
Spangenberg,  39,  59,  104-112. 
Spirituality  of  Religion,  i,  7. 
Supper,  the  Lord's,  4,  11. 
Stedman,  32,  34,  38,  103. 


232 


Index. 


Stiefel,  109. 

Stock,  George  Carl,  132,  171. 
Strasburg,  5. 
Suabia,  17 

Sunday-schools  (see  Religious  Ed- 
ucation), loi,  165. 
Switzerland,  17. 
Synods  of  1742,  112-118. 

Till,  William,   140. 
Towamencin,  56,  130. 
Tubingen,  5. 


IJLM,  I,  5. 


ITIENNA,  22-24. 
*      Vienna,  Bishop  of,  4. 

WAGNER,  Abraham,  43,  53,  55, 
**^      57,  63,  109,  191,  194,  196. 
Wagner,  Christopher,  45,  49. 
Wagner,  David,  204. 
Wagner,  Melchior,  49,  149. 
Wahn,  Ed.,  49. 
War,  the  French  and  Indian,  141- 

148. 
War,  the  Revolutionary,  148-159. 
Warmer,  Andrew,  128. 
Weber,  Christian,  109. 
Weber  Christopher,  144. 
Weichenhan,  18,  17S,  198,  199. 
Weisenberg,  29. 
Weiser,  C.  Z.,  37,  193. 
Weiser,  Daniel,  185,  200, 
Weiser,  Conrad,  146. 
Weiss,  George,  28,  31,  36,  37,  39,  56, 

58,  61,  69,  105,  107,  108,  no,  113, 
120,  186,  197. 

Werner,  18,  178. 

Westphalia,  Treaty  of,  17,  21,  23,  26. 

Whitefield,  no,  in. 

Wiegner,  Abraham,  48. 

Wiegner,  Adam,  24,  25. 

Wiegner,  Christopher,  39-41,  48,  57- 

59,  io7-n5,  192. 
Wiegner,  George,  222. 
Wiegner,  Mrs.  George,  184. 
Wiegner,  Melchior,  42,  43,  129,  146. 
Wilkinson,  Jemima,  204. 
Wiegner,  Rosina,  128. 


Wiegner,  Susanna,  38, 
Williams,  David,  45. 
Wistar,  Casper,  40,  42. 
Wittenberg,  3. 
Worcester,  56. 
Worship,  Family,  178,  179. 
Public,  18,  28,  61,  66,  68,  179. 

VEAKEL,  Abraham  (i),  42,  45. 
■*•      Yeakel,  Abraham  (2),  49,  128. 
Yeakel,  Abraham,  222. 
Yeakel,  Andrew,  135. 
Yeakel,  Balzer  (i),  41. 
Yeakel,  Balzer  (2),  42,  45,  140. 
Yeakel,  Balzer  (3),  47,  128. 
Yeakel,  Balzer  (4),  48. 
Yeakel,  Barbara,  47. 
Yeakel,  Casper  (i),  42. 
Yeakel,  Casper  (2),  222. 
Yeakel,  Christopher  (i),  38,   43,  49, 

224. 
Yeakel,     Christopher    (2),    48,    68, 

128,  129,  222. 
Yeakel,  Christopher  (3),  135. 
Yeakel  Cottage,  43. 
Yeakel,  Daniel,  47. 
Yeakel,  David  (i),  38,  42. 
Yeakel,  David  (2),  135. 
Yeakel,  George  (i),  41. 
Yeakel,  George  (2),  47,  222. 
Yeakel,  Hans,  48. 
Yeakel,  Hans  Heinrich,  (or  John), 

42,  45,  47,  68,  128,  140. 
Yeakel,  Jacob,  222. 
Yeakel,  Jeremiah,  47,  222. 
Yeakel,  Jesse,  201. 
Yeakel,  John,  222. 
Yeakel,  Joseph,  47. 
Yeakel,  Josephus,  200. 
Yeakel,  Melchior,  224. 
Yeakel,  Regina,  38. 
Yeakel,  Rosina,  168. 
Yeakel,  Susanna,  38. 
Young,  Training  of,  see  Education. 

VEISBERGER,  m, 

"     Zimmerman,  John,  107. 

Zinzendorf,  25-30,  39,  103-119. 

Zurich,  4. 

Zwingli,  4. 


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